


Into Rapture

by Cyberra, Omicron_The_IceQueen



Category: BioShock, Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Father-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-24
Updated: 2013-10-23
Packaged: 2017-11-14 22:50:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 85,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/520331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyberra/pseuds/Cyberra, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omicron_The_IceQueen/pseuds/Omicron_The_IceQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A dimensional rupture throws a Cybertronian into a crumbling city deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean. How will he adapt to this new place, or how will it adapt to him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Queen’s notes: Fear the products of boredom that the two of us have come up with. >D Anyways, I just wanted to point out a few things, one is that both the Transformer and Bioshock worlds depicted here in this story are AU from canon, being of Cy’s sagas and my own interoperation of Rapture for stories I’m working on. The first few chapters are a bit rough as we were experiencing and I was settling my new character.
> 
> As to my Jack, I named her that at random by going through my dad’s cell phone contacts XD it wasn’t until a week or so later I realized the name similarities between her and the Jack of the first game. Also, size ways, Jack the girl only comes up to Ulti’s lower thigh, and I’m assuming that he didn’t know how old/young she was because Ulti doesn’t have a lot of experience with humans yet here. Cy can confirm in her note
> 
> Cheers!  
> -Icy
> 
> Ultra Rodimus’s Notes: I had quite a bit of fun working on this, watching how Ultimus adjusted to Rapture, and how Rapture deals with him. Ulti is taking it pretty well, while Rapture in general is not sure what to make of this new metal creature roaming its halls. This story is also separate from my own fic series; this is more of an AU spinoff than anything directly attached to my fanfic series, the product of boredom more than planning.
> 
> No less fun for that, though XD
> 
> Ultimus is learning the world of Rapture as he goes; he came into this world completely clueless and has to adjust fast. Fortunately for him, Cybertronians are an adaptive breed, and he’s no exception.

Light.

Sound.

Wind.

Disorientation. 

Ultimus covered his ears, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to block out the sound and the light, but it was fruitless. So this was a dimensional rupture.

Not long after, he was spit out, landing on a hard surface hard enough to knock the wind out of him. That was enough to let him know that, like his commander, he had changed form. He lay still for a long moment, getting his scattered thoughts together. He heard the sound of dripping water, of faint yelling and heavy footsteps. There was the smell of seawater and death, dankness and rot. Finally picking himself up, he looked around.

It was a dimmed room, lit only by a fading yellow bubble above and looking like a turned over storage room. Supplies here and there, and the ground under him was metal plating as well as the walls. There was something that smelled sickly sweet, coming from beyond a few shelving stands. 

Groaning softly, Ultimus climbed to his feet, wobbling slightly as he got his balance back. A quick check of himself revealed some interesting bruises under the featureless jumpsuit he was somehow wearing. Once he felt steadier on his feet, he made his way cautiously toward the strange smell.

There was a splattering of red-brown out the ground and, after rounding a cabinet, the human formed Autobot would see a door, partly open. The trail of red led into this smaller side room, and if the door was opened something rather unpleasant would fall out.

Ultimus eyed the smears, then inhaled slowly, nostrils flaring. It smelled like blood, but there was something weird about it. He sidled closer, hooking one foot into the door and kicking it open before leaping back. The thing that had once been a body... splatter down, breaking apart partly. The smell increased now that the body was in the open, and there was something off about it beyond the decaying state.

The redhead eyed the body, remaining a distance away. It looked to have been human, but looked strange. He sneezed at the smell, backing away, circling it at a distance.

"Hmm, mmm, hmmm!" A soft, and muffled voice filtered in from the background sounds, that thumping from before increasing as well. A child's voice spoke from outside another door, "ADAM Daddy, this way! I can smell it."

Ultimus's head snapped around, fixing bright yellow eyes in the doorway. Even in his human form, his eyes glowed in the dark, twin yellow lights in the dimness. He backed away from the body, into the shadows, watching.

The door cycled open, sliding upwards to reveal a small form, shadowed by a much bigger frame that couldn't make it through the door. A childish giggle came from the smaller one and a young girl back up into the store room, looking at the big form outside.

"Don't worry Mr. Bubbles! I can get the ADAM," She said, and coming into the yellow light her worn, stained dress became visible. Her hair was pulled up and tied with a pink ribbon, she was bare foot and had almost too pale skin tone.

Yellow eyes narrowed. Ultimus's sense of smell brought him the scent of old blood and something else, something inhuman. The shape outside smelled of gunpowder, blood, and salt water. Whatever it was was just outside his field of vision. Settling into his corner, he watched.

The child was human, or looked it at first. As she turned her own slightly glowing eyes, shined over with yellow were visible. She scanned around, sniffing at the air before walking straight for the corpse. She lifted a device in her hand, a thing that had a handle, long needle, and a bottle. "I smell ADAM...ohhh there's roses!" She added spotting the bloodstains and other liquids.

Ultimus eyed the child, wondering if she was high on something. He'd only heard talk like that from stoners and druggies he'd heard in dark alleys. And what could make her eyes glow like that?

The girl padded closer, still sniffing until her odd eyes landed on the corpse near the Autobot. She smiled and brightened up, "There is an angel in here Daddy!"

A deep vibrating rumble came from outside in answer as the child walked unfazed through the slushy, sticky remains. She dropped down to her knees beside the corpse, lifting the extracting needle as she eyed the remains carefully, "I see it! It's glowing it the belly." She stabbed down and compressed the trigger, glancing around as she did so but didn’t seem to really see what was around her.

Ultimus' eyes glowed in the dimness on the far side of the room. Quietly, flesh shifted to metal, hydraulics whining softly as he shifted position slightly. The double, curved horns cresting his helm cast an odd shadow on the wall behind him. He remained still, otherwise, watching from a distance.

Humming tunelessly, the girl continued her work, pulling the needle back and stabbed back down to change the angle. The bottle at the end was filling up with reddish liquid, blood and something else that glinted not quite naturally in the dim light. She truly didn't seem to notice anything around her as she... worked.

Ultimus inhaled deeply and slowly, sorting out the scents carried on the air. The reek of blood was overpowering. Normally, the smell of blood would waken his own hunger, him having fed on the blood of his own kind for eons, but this stuff smelled of something strange and potentially dangerous. Staying where he was, he watched, allowing the air to hiss out of the vents of his neck and shoulder armor.

There was another rumble from outside as the girl finally stopped. She peered at the bottle and nodded, standing up, and moved to lift the device up to her mouth. Yellow optics flashed, then narrowed. Something weird was going on here. The focusing lenses in his eyes narrowed in on the girl, wondering what was going on.

She started to drink as if downing apple juice, gulping down the blood mixture until it was gone. She coughed and wiped off her lips with one bare arm, "All done!" She turned starting to smile but paused, the smile fading as she looked around, "Mr. Bubbles?"

Ultimus stayed where he was, a vague shadow with glowing yellow eyes, fangs glinting dimly as his lip curled back from his dental plate. What was going on here, and what was this place?

The girl's own eyes finally saw the optics and brightened, with the main door closed now she focused on the mech, "Daddy!" She said bouncing closer and holding up her arms, "I'm all done!"

Ultimus let out a warning rumble, moving away from her. He paced along the wall, wondering what she was talking about.

"Daddy? What's wrong? I got the ADAM, I was a good girl." The child said, frowning in confusion at the retreating mech.

"I am not your daddy," he rumbled in response, showing fangs. "Who are you? What are you?"

"Not...Daddy?" Her eyes widened and she took a deep breath, not picking up the pheromone anymore she backed up, hugging the extractor to her chest like a normal child would a favorite, comforting toy. Programming kicked in and she gave a scream before turning and running back to the outside door. At her scream there was an answering roar from outside.

Ultimus remained in the far corner, just standing there, optics narrow. He leaned against the wall, just watching, maintaining his distance.

The girl didn't look back as she darting outside to the bigger form in the darkness, crying out. "Bad thing Mr. B! Bad thing!" She was grabbed up and the monster outside retreated to her yell. Faintly there was a yelp heard and another roar before someone else stumbled into the room.

"Holy crap!" The form yelled and lunched to the side before flattening herself against the wall so not to be seen.

Ultimus quickly moved, getting between the woman and the door. His eyes glowed brightly, and he showed fangs. "You. Talk." He advanced on her, keeping himself between her and the door. "What is this place? Who or what was that girl?"

"What the- another tin daddy?" The woman's eyes widened behind her mask made of sticks and twigs as she realized there were spoken words. "Aw crap! I didn't hurt that Little Sister! Honest!"

Ultimus moved into the light, revealing hair the color of a fire's heart and bared fangs under a vaguely Roman-style helm, crested with hornlike curves of glittering metal. "Do I look like one of those 'tin daddies'?" he growled. "What the slag is this place?"

The woman tried to squish herself more against the wall, "It's Rapture! The same old city at the bottom of the freaking sea!"

"Never heard of it. But being under the ocean would explain the smell of seawater and the constant sound of dripping." Ultimus's lip curled. Yellow eyes narrowed. "Who was that girl and what was that thing that took her?"

"That was a Little Sister- ADAM factories they are." The human said, shaking from tremors of real fear. The only thing she could link the mech to was a Big Daddy after all. "That was a Big Daddy. They're the guard dogs of the girls."

"What is this ADAM?" he demanded, leaning closer. Air hissed from the air vents on his neck. He inhaled, taking in the woman's scent. It was every bit as strange as the corpse's and the girl's.

"ADAM is ADAM..." She said, not sure if she was happy or glad her shotgun was laying out in the hall. "Makes the world great... it makes and fuels Plasmids."

Oh, that's right she had plasmids!

"Plasmids," he repeated, wrapping his tongue around the strange word. "What are plasmids?"

She debated something before lifting her right hand and flexed her hand, mentally triggering her Incinerate! plasmid. Veins of red came to life around her forearms and hands. "Like this."

The redhead regarded the red veins with what appeared to be a mild curiosity. "Is that supposed to mean anything to me?"

The far shorter human snapped her fingers and fire erupted between them, another snap had the fire larger, "Plasmids, strange tin daddy, are this." She grinned under her mask, getting some confidence back with the use of the Plasmid and rush of EVE in her veins.

Ultimus regarded the fire with interest. His armor was resistant to fire as well as to extremes of heat and cold, for the most part. He brushed red hair back, then casually stepped into the flames, using it to burn off some of the fluids that had gotten onto his armor but otherwise taking no harm from it. "Thanks for the armor-cleaning." He gave her what could have been called a grin if it hadn't revealed his fangs so well.

There was a pause and then, "You're... welcome?" the woman... no, the girl offered, voice squeaking and now showing it was younger than first thought to be.

The mech brushed bits of ash from his shoulder joint casually. "I'm not one of those 'tin daddies' or whatever you call them. I'm something entirely different and something even worse if you piss me off." He lifted one hand, and it was suddenly resting on the hilt of a broadsword with a blade at least five feet long, the edges razor sharp.

The human made an interesting sound before sagging against the wall. Giant non-Big Daddy but Daddy like in a way, and things popping out of nowhere like it really shouldn't on top of her scares earlier... She needed a temporary break from reality.

Though the mask did get in the way to see for sure that she fainted.

Ultimus looked at the crumpled female for a moment, turning her over with his foot. He eyed her for a long moment, and then walked toward the door, sheathing the sword across his back as he did so. Ducking slightly to make sure his helm crest cleared the door (he was nearly eight feet tall by himself, and the crest cleared eight foot three), he stepped out into the corridor.

It wasn't much different, other than it had at one point had wooden paneling. A few puddles of water were here and there. To the right was another fresher body, one that was probably anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours old, so that the gross comedic mutations were visible.

The redhead inspected the body, taking in the mutations. Then he turned and began walking down the corridor.

"Uuuggh, bloody hell this isn't my day." The human from before said as she staggered out of the store room, pushing up her mask to run a hand over her face before sighing deeply.

"Apparently not," Ultimus' basso rumble echoed from slightly farther down the corridor, and yellow eyes glowed at her from a shadow not far away. He was inspecting some old wiring hanging loose from a wall, pulling a piece loose and snapping it like a whip.

The woman jumped sideways, her hand reaching out over her right shoulder. But she grasped at air as her shotgun was several feet away and not in the rigged up holster. "Gah!"

"It would only bounce off my armor anyway," he informed her calmly. "No human weapon can harm me."

"There's still splicers around!" She said, grabbing up her trusty modified rifle and checking it over. "You got a name tin daddy?"

"Ultimus," Yellow eyes glowed brighter. "What are splicers?"

"That." She pointed at the dead corpse with the shotgun before reaching up to pull her mask back into place.

Ultimus regarded the corpse dispassionately. Then his gaze returned to her. "What's with the mask?"

"Camouflage." The woman said shrugging, "Most Splicers had a mask to hide their mutations. Like this I can get away from most of them."

The redhead cracked his makeshift whip, stripping off the insulation to expose the bare wires at the end. He wrapped the other end around his hand. "And why are they called splicers?"

"From too much gene splicing with ADAM and plasmid," The woman said, eyeing the mech through the mask's eye slits, "You really shouldn't be messing with that stuff, the Thinker may overload it."

Ultimus held up the end, showing that he'd already detached it from the wall. "Who is this Thinker?" He glanced around, and then narrowed his eyes. "I have no idea of the layout of this place." Yellow eyes slid back to her.

Her back stiffened as the human back up and away, "Oh no. No, no, no..." The human shook her head, "Oh my! I think I hear a Big Sister! Bye!" She turned to bolt down the hall.

Metal shifted and changed configuration. It was a four-legged form that raced after her, leaping over her head and landing in front of her. Yellow eyes pinned her over bared teeth as the metal wolf, standing easily as high as her waist, blocked the corridor ahead of her. The human let out a scream, having lived her whole life in this underwater city. The only non-swimming animals she knew of were either a bird, insect, rats and house cats that were brought down or hitch-hiked. She let loose a fireball in reaction, scrambling back on the ground and holding onto her shotgun in a white knuckled grip.

The fire washed over blue and gold-marked armor, not even singeing it. Ultimus transformed back to robot form, looking down at her from his full height. "Going somewhere?"

The human said some very bad words and then, "What the hell are you?" She said, mask ajar so she had to shove it upwards to see, "What in the sea was that you were?!"

"I am a Transformer." His eyes flashed at her. "And my other form is a wolf... A large and powerful carnivore."

"Wolf?" The girl asked, confused at the word but managing to stand and put some distance between her and the mech.

"Try to run, and I can track your scent anywhere," he informed her flatly. "I'm a predator as well. And your scent is rather distinctive."

"That cuz' I was almost a Little Sister." She said crossing her arms as best she would holding a rifle, "Got everything but the slug and brain washing."

He bared fangs briefly. "I know nothing about this place or anything in it. If you think I'm going to let a source of information just run away from me, you're out of your mind."

"You know there is such a thing as asking nicely." Even if it didn't happen that often it was a lot nicer than being scared into flames more than once.

"Somehow I doubt that happens much in this place." His gaze bored into her. "Will you behave this time, or do I have to make a leash?"

The woman hissed at that and jumped backwards, she glared and then turned around, "Fine, whatever I'll play tour guide. But you'll have to help out in the mean time." She said, sliding her shotgun into its home made holster on her back before fixing her mask again.

Rapture was a big city, this weird person may get lost if she was lucky.

He reached back to tap the sword hilt showing over his shoulder. "I don't respond well to being attacked, at any time."

"Neither does anyone down here." The human said as she walked to the dead splicer, "More so the 'normal' adults and Splicers. The Big Daddies and Sisters really get pissed."

"As I said, I'm like nothing else down here. You don't want to see me when I get really get angry." He paced along after her, uncannily silent for his size and weight, as well as for his steel boots.

"Yeah, I gathered that tin daddy." She shrugged and knelt down by the body, reaching into the tattered jacket pockets and came up with a wallet and several shotgun casings, "Oh nice, ammo."

Ultimus watched, sweeping out his own sensors along the corridor. "Nothing alive of any kind detected anywhere near us."

"That's good and bad," There was a pause as she stood up, "Name's Jack." She said looking at the mech, "And when we do get to more populated areas, you're going to have packs after you."

"I gave you my name already. It comes from 'ultimate warrior'." His eyes narrowed. "I've faced worse odds in the gladiatorial arenas."

"The what, in what?" Jack tilted her mask head, "Never heard of them." She kicked the dead splicer before moving away. "I was heading to Arcadia for some better food. There's a tram ride if you want to see the city."

"The arenas? People like me were made to fight and kill each other in bloody, violent fights, to entertain those who had enslaved us. The fact that I survived is proof of my own skill." He growled deeply for a moment.

"Why would anyone what this," She waved her arms, meaning everything about her known world, "For entertainment?"

"Those who enslaved us forced many of my kind to fight to the deaths for their amusement. More were sold as slaves. When we got fed up and kicked them off, it was a very bloody rebellion. They were sick creatures." Fangs flashed in the dim light. "Those gladiators who didn't kill their opponents bloodily or slowly enough were often tortured to death later."

"Sounds like Sander from Fort Frolic." Jack sniffed in distain from both her own experiences in that place, as well as inherited memories before walking again. "Glad I got out of there, one thing the Little Sister Program did for me I liked."

Yellow eyes gave her a look, a scarlet eyebrow lifting in a silent question, "Little Sister program?"

"Right, hang on. Rapture 101," Jack said and she motioned for Ultimus to follow her to the side of the hall. She looked up and down and aimed a kick at a panel; it shuddered and lifted as it was dislodged from a light lock. Jack stepped back to watch it rise and a pale blue glow filled a little section of their hall. "Other than we're at the bottom of the sea."

The mech followed her in a strangely silent trot. "There is nothing like this where I come from."

"The surface world doesn't really know about us." Jack shrugged. "Ryan made sure of that. He's the one that started Rapture. Anyways, down here science wasn’t held back in anyway, and one of the many breakthroughs was ADAM. It could change our DNA, refined it into plasmids." The woman held out her arms, the red veins flashed before vanishing and blue pulsing veins replaced them, energy skipping between her fingertips.

"And these plasmids give you different powers, I take it." Ultimus eyed the veins. "Why would anyone want to live at the bottom of the sea?"

"To get away from the surface, the wars up there, the government." Jack shrugged, "I've lived down here my whole life, all twelve years. So I don't know everything that the adults wanted to get away from. But for as bad as it is down here, it's supposed to be worse up there." She pointed up, and from earlier when her mask was off she had looked closer to her twenties...

"From the look of things, it's far worse down here than it is up there." He glanced around the corridor. "I for one am quite addicted to seeing the sky. But then, I am a flier, and I need the sky."

"Fly?" Jack looked up with a confused expression again, from the few pictures she'd seen and the lessons she had. How big and empty the sky was supposed to be... She shuddered at the thought, "I'd never do that, too much space, you may fall up and there's not supposed to be much in the sky so you can’t swim to safety."

"Fall up?" Ultimus let loose a bark of laughter that made Jack jump, "Gravity holds you bound to the planet; you can't fall up. Unless you're flying fast enough to break through gravity's pull. The sky is open and wide and beautiful, and there is nothing like the feel of wind rushing over your wings, seeing the earth laid out before you." Panels on his back shifted, unfolding to reveal pointed, sleek wings.

The young woman (or was she really a child?) reached up to lift her mask up, finally willingly coming closer to Ultimus more than eight feet for a better look. "You really don't fall up?" Jack asked, confirming a bit that she was younger than first impression.

He shook his head. "No. You can't fall up. The planet pulls you to it; you can fall down, though. But falling up is impossible." He turned slightly to show off his wings. "There are engines in my legs; when ignited the exhaust can burn flesh from bone. I have seen cities and forests and miles of open fields spreading out before me, from over thirty thousand feet in the air."

"Cities like Rapture?" Jack glanced at the window, but realized there wasn't a really a view of the city line at this angle. They were on the outer end and facing the wrong way. "And... forests are bunches of trees right?"

Ultimus turned his head slightly. Thin beams of blue light lanced out from his eyes, forming a three-dimensional image. A great city rising from the earth, spires reaching for the cloudless blue above, vast forests, birds glancing over as he streaked past, dancing among puffy whiteness, fields overrun with a rainbow of flowers.

The girl hopped and jumped away from the holograms, startled and started reaching for her shotgun but froze. Jack stared at the image as she slowly became transfixed, "...that's the surface?" she breathed, eyes wide as some instinct or inner need reached out.

"This is the surface world." He changed the image again, this time showing a sky aflame with vivid reds, oranges, yellows, and purples as the sun dipped below the horizon, the moon rising from another angle into a sky spangled with glittering points of light.

Jack's fingers passed into the image, trying to touch the moon, "I've never seen anything like it... not even the Arcadia domes and those are the best place in Rapture sometimes."

"There is very little that can compare to watching the sun rise or set, feeling the breeze on your face, seeing the grasses rustling and waving around you," the mech rumbled.

The girl was about to say something, maybe, but didn't get a chance as there was a thump from outside the window. Jack turned, taking in the upside down, lean form, the glowing orange porthole and shape of the helmet- as well as the attached needle/blade... Jack did what any sane or semi sane person would do, or at least those who knew of this brand of Rapture's living nightmare.

She yelped and tried to hide behind Ultimus’ leg.

The mech bared fangs at the shape, but did not strike; shattering the window would only flood the area

The figure didn't move at first, just staring at the Autobot's leg where the girl was behind.

"Big Sister!" Jack hissed, trying to be small. "I'm not here- Don’t tell her! I don't want to be a Little Sister."

"It's outside," Ultimus rumbled in response, shifting his wings to a position that displayed aggression.

"They can teleport," Jack said, "They've absorbed so much ADAM and plasmids over the years, but..." She paused and then realized something, "They don't travel alone anymore. Not the younger ones anyways."

"I'm no teleporter, but I'm a veteran warrior with quite fast reflexes and very thick armor." Ultimus scanned the corridors again. His scan would have picked up something new, something that had been quietly walking in the darker part of the hall towards him and the human. With the same lean figure as the one righting itself in the window, but crouched low and the portholes dimmed to a dull glow so not to attract attention.

Ultimus' head snapped around, and this time it was a harsh snarl that echoed down the corridor. A tooth-grating vibration started up, apparently coming from the backs of his legs. He bared fangs at the shape, wings arching into a definitely threatening posture, at least for anyone who could read the language of wings.

The newcomer froze, standing perfectly still as it took in the new sound and vibration. The dim porthole lit back up and turned a more golden hue. The second Big Sister still didn't move, but a low grumbling came from its helmet.

The mech lifted his hands, unsheathing a formidable-looking set of curved claws from his fingertips. He turned his head slightly to keep an eye on both of the Big Sisters, this time releasing a full-throated roar of challenge, a battle cry that had terrified his opponents in the ancient arenas.

An audio-piercing shriek came from the sister inside as well as out at the roar the sound rising high above the Autobot's tone. With a frame as lean as it was, the Big Sister's scream should have been nearly as loud as it was, making many things spark. Debris lifted up around the ADAM hunter inside, her porthole though remained the same color as she bounded forward.

Three paces and then she vanished in a purple mist, her scream fading away.


	2. Chapter 2

While not a teleporter himself, Ultimus worked alongside one, so he was used to the ability, and, as he'd noted, he had quick reflexes honed through eons of brutal arena fighting. He whipped around, sensors on hyper alert for the slightest hint of re-materialization behind to either side. Nothing happened inside the hall, but a strangely twisted sound came from the side. Warped through helmet, water and whatever the window was made of, it was still distinct enough to hear.

"They're laughing at us." Jack said in some mild protest eyes on the window and the Big Sister there, as well as the second one that was lazily swimming past behind the first.

Ultimus bared claws and fangs, optics glowing like lambent suns, still growling. "First one to get too close gets filleted."

The first Sister leaned in, her front porthole pressed against the window and made a trilling almost razz like sound. In a weird way, she was playing as far as she was concerned. Wiggling her fingers at the two inside as the other behind started to pick at the kelp as if forgetting about what had happened moment before.

Ultimus made a short lunge, jaws snapping shut with a metallic crash; a not-so-obvious hint as to what those fangs were really for. Then he shooed Jack away from the window, turning his back on the two Big Sisters, but still quite aware of them. Another trill came from the outside of the window before the Big Sister pushed up, swimming out with ease to join the other.

Jack didn't have to be shooed twice, she was picking up a good speed as she trotted away. Not running though, she had seen what running sometimes did, triggering a reflex or programmed response in the Big Sisters, "Holy crap!"

"I take it those were Big Sisters?" Ultimus rumbled.

"Younger ones but yeah," Jack nodded, "They can't be much older than I am, probably just got put into the suits."

"They look like divers gone insane."

"It's probably modified Big Daddy suits." Jack shrugged, not stopping her pace but she pulled her shotgun free as she saw more doors ahead, "My family wasn't engineers or techs or whatever. They studied things out in the water." She rubbed at the side of her head, frowning at the blood that came from her ears, but the ear drums were fixed again now.

Ultimus eyed the blood, but chose not to comment. He sniffed at the air, taking in the scents. "The air smells odd..."

Jack tilted her head back, eyes half lidded as she sniffed, "Just some ADAM filled corpses farther along. And I don’t hear any Big Daddies." She splashed into a puddle of water and swirled her bare feet around in it to clean them... sort of.

"What are these Big Daddies?" Ultimus watched her. "You keep calling me one, and that little girl with the yellow eyes mistook me for one."

"They're the guardians of the Little Sisters and Brothers." Jack said, "There's a dead one that I know of on the way to Arcadia." She made a face, "Maybe that's what smells, the things are loaded with ADAM enriched blood from what was done to them."

"That silhouette did not look human."

"They used to be, like splicers and Sisters, even the Brothers." The girl said, kicking a pebble and looking back up at Ultimus, "The Rosie from before headed this way."

He looked at her, lifting an eyebrow. "Rosie?"

"A type of Big Daddy," Jack nodded, "Rosies, Bouncers, the old Alphas. I heard whispers there’s a few new kinds too."

"Ah. I'll take your word for that." He padded along after her.

"You'll see them more than likely." Jack stretched, and then straightened out her stained dress, then reaching up to mess up her hair more. "I just got to be careful not to be grabbed..." she added in a soft undertone.

The Cybertronian gave her an odd look. "Grabbed?"

The girl jumped away from Ultimus, out of arm's reach, "Nothing!" She said, in a slightly louder then normal voice, her tone that of a child that didn't want to admit something, but she wrapped her arms around herself for a moment before skipping ahead a bit.

If he'd been capable of rolling his eyes, that's exactly what he would have done. Shaking his head, Ultimus trotted after her. Jack stayed to the middle of the hall, being quiet for now as she focused on splashing into almost every puddle around, and when they got into where there were open doors she slowed down. The almost playfulness she'd gotten into started to bleed away as she eyed the first open door with distrust, sniffing at the air.

Ultimus paced after her, using his uncanny silence (for a mechanical life-form) to get closer than she's prefer without being noticed. His own scanners swept out, scanning for anything lurking behind the doors.

"Wonder if there's any food..." Jack said, stepping closer to the first door.

"Wait." Ultimus' eyes glowed sulfur-bright. "There's something there. Something alive."

The girl hopped sideways and this time didn't hesitate to get closer to the mech to hide behind his leg, reaching for her shotgun, "Never mind, I'm not hungry after all." She said even as her stomach growled.

"All this weirdness and that ADAM stuff is confusing my sensors, so I can't tell if it is - or was - human. But it's about five-two and bipedal." Bright yellow optics narrowed to slits, as if trying to burn through the door all on their own.

"Better to be safe and hungry- and I’m not, than getting my stomach torn open." Jack said, edging past the door all but plastered against the opposite wall.

Ultimus' armor plates actually bristled here and there, making him look ever so slightly bigger and more intimidating. His steps were almost silent as he moved toward the door, sniffing at the air. Curling his lip, he ‘tasted’ the scent. It smelled just like the dead splicer from the corridor. Reaching back, he drew his sword.

Jack watched, her shotgun looking bigger in her small hands, "What are you doing? If there's really a splicer in there I don't want to wake it up..."

The big mech carefully positioned the tip, using his own senses and a heat sensor in his optics to place it very precisely. Then, with lightning speed, he drove the full length of the blade right through the door, one precise stab. When he withdrew the sword, a good half of the blade was stained red. The girl was slight behind and to the side of Ultimus, staring first in a bit of shock and then focused on the blood stain.

"Hey..." She reached to touch, stepping forward.

"It smelled just like that corpse in the corridor... the splicer." Ultimus cleaned off the sword and sheathed it. "But this one was alive."

Jack managed to get a few fingers against the flat of Ultimus' blade, smearing the strangely thick blood on her digits. Then she moved to put the same fingers in her mouth...? More blood dripped down the door from the gash where his blade had gone through, and oozed sluggishly under the door. Ultimus watched her curiously, but said nothing.

"HavADEM." Jack said around her figures before sucking off and swallowing the blood off them and lowered her hand, "Half ADAM, that must have been one of the older splicers..." She hesitated, "So, it's dead now?"

"Unless it can survive a blade right through the spine. If it can, then it's paralyzed from the shoulders down." He lifted an eyebrow. "You could taste that in the blood?"

"Can the ADAM." Jack edged closer to the door, "What plasmids it had... could use an upgrade...don't know if I should make or..." She was half talking to herself as Jack debated opening the door.

Ultimus permitted another scan, finding only the cooling body. "There's nothing else. Just a lump of meat cooling on the other side of the door."

Jack looked up at him and then around, focusing on something against the wall, "...I'm gonna do it!" She announced and darted over to the vent, shrugging off her rigged holster and dropping it and the shotgun, as well as her mask onto the ground. Jack looked back before jumping to get her hands on the rim of the open vent, "I'll be right back."

Ultimus leaned against the wall, swordpoint resting on the floor, keeping eyes, audials, and sensors open for any hint of trouble.

"Um...could I have a hand?" Jacks voice was partly muffled, she had gotten halfway into the vent and was at an odd angle, her legs just slightly too long for her to get in completely. The redhead reached over, helping her all the way into the vent, then settled against the wall between it and the door.

Sounds came from within the wall itself, muffled words as well as sounds of moving. They slowly started to fade a bit as Jack managed to get under the floor, but not going away. She was still in hearing range if Ultimus wanted to talk into the vent.

A new sound came after a few minutes. A long, low but carrying call, sounding vaguely like part of a whale's song as it echoed down the halls. Under his helm a pointed audial plate twitched. Ultimus lifted his head, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound. Not two seconds after it faded, the call started again, sounding mournful and in a way...lonely. Not long after, thudded, vibrating footsteps could be heard heading in this direction.

The mech turned toward the sound, then banged on the wall and leaned toward the vent. "I think we're about to have company," he called.

"I haven't found one yet!" Jack's voice drifted out after a few seconds.

"I am hearing very loud heavy steps... I think a real Big Daddy is coming this way. With his little girl," Ultimus warned.

"Well, he can't get me in here- found one!" Jack squirmed in the dark to turn around, yelping in pain as she jabbed herself. At the same time a metal door not far cycled open and the massive form of a Rosie stepped into the light. Each step heavy from the ton of metal and thick, integrated diving suit, not including his helmet.

The Big Daddy clasped a heavy duty rivet gun in one hand, the other free as he strode with no hurry to the vent and Ultimus. No small child was with this one, nor did it had any hint of a drill on or attracted.

Ultimus turned his head, watching the Big Daddy. This was his first chance to see one up close and get a good look. The rivet gun looked like a formidable weapon. He'd figured out that his own energy weapons were simply too dangerous to use in this underwater city. Perhaps he should look into getting one of those heavy weapons, like the rivet gun.

The creature, once long ago hand been a human man, stared out of a glowing yellow porthole that was like and unlike those of the big Sisters from before. This Big Daddy as it was called moved at an easy, though not relaxed pace, knowing that almost nothing would stand against it for long as it, he, moved to the open vent.

At the same time Jack was coming back.

Ultimus tapped on the wall. "Big Daddy approaching," he hissed into the vent, moving to stand between it and the approaching Big Daddy.

It turned partly, seeming to focus on Ultimus for a moment, but when he didn't move in the way again the Rosie stepped up, glancing first to one side and then another before curling the thick, powerful fingers of its free hand into a fist and slamming it against the wall beside the vent. At the same time letting out a loud rumble, grumbling sound like it was trying to talk.

Ultimus narrowed his eyes. "First come first served," he growled at it. "And I was here first."

The Rosie turned at his voice, seeming to stare and blink at the Autobot. After a moment he turned back and thumped his fist against the wall twice more, calling out and waited. Inside Jack was holding perfectly still, not daring to open her eyes. What could have been a sigh came from the Big Daddy as his shoulders slumped for a moment. Then shrugging his tanks back into place he turned to leave to the next vent.

The redhead tilted his head, watching the Big Daddy walk away. Then he stepped forward. "It's gone... Looked more than a little depressed."

Jack crawled into view, shuffling until she could peek out, staring after the Big Daddy. She looked back to Ultimus, "Yeah... I feel bad sometimes since they think I'm a Little Sister a lot..."

"I get the feeling that we're going to be mistaken as a Big Daddy-Little Sister pair a lot," he mused.

Jack looked at the gatherer's needle she had found and back up at Ultimus before paling under the layers of dirt, blood and grime, "I hope not..."

"The Little Sisters think I'm a Big Daddy... and to that one, I either wasn't a threat or it also mistook me as one of its own kind." Yellow eyes turned to her.

The girl sighed before glancing down and making a face. "Maybe I should go back and turn around..."

Ultimus arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I don't want to face plant coming out." She said, extending an arm to drop the needle on her other things beside the vent. "Did that when I was smaller... it hurts."

"Or you could just climb out onto my shoulder," he replied casually.

Jack paused, needle still in hand and blinked at the mech, her expression a classic, and suddenly more childish, “Really?”

Ultimus stepped closer, turning so that his shoulder was in easy reach. "Go ahead."

The girl reached out to grab on, pulling herself out of the vent and trying really hard not to giggle, managed to get onto the Cybertronian. Ultimus brushed red hair out of the way, watching her settle herself on his shoulder. His yellow eyes glinted with matching amusement, even as Jack shifted to get into a better spot than being flopped over the mech's shoulder. He would of course be able to tell how light she was as well as that she seemed too thin for her age.

"Oof, you are a lot harder than Daddies..."

"They used to be human. I never was. I am steel and circuitry all throughout, made of metals no human has ever forged." He tilted his head, watching her settle herself.

The girl tilted her head, after finally getting balanced, and then looked over her shoulder, "Aw..."

The redhead tilted his head, sweeping his sensors over the area. Curling his lip slightly, he ‘tasted’ the air. Jack was looking down, at where she had left her shotgun and holster, and remembering why she had gone through the trouble of going into the vents. She looked from one side to the other, wondering how to get down.

Ultimus settled neatly into a crouch, letting her slide off his shoulder. Yellow eyes watched.

One thump, yelp, and dusting off as if nothing happen later, Jack picked up her only weapon and the holster, hesitated a moment and offered it to Ultimus, "Can you hold this? I have to get some ADAM."

He took it, nodding. Rising to his feet, he watched her.

Jack made a face as she moved to the door Ultimus had stabbed through before. She turned the handle and let it open, hopping back as the dead splicer fell out. "Ewww... it's eyes are open!"

"Not like he can see you," Ultimus observed, regarding the body with the lack of interest that said he'd had long experience with death.

"I'll make another one," Jack said as she ran over to pick up her mask made of twigs and bits of wood, using it to cover the mutated face of the splicer. She paused, glancing around and up at Ultimus before swallowing, "So... could you make sure I don't get, you know, torn apart? Please?"

The redhead inclined his head, "Of course. You're my guide, too, since I have no idea of the layout of this place." Raising his head, he listened. "And it sounds like our first customers are already on their way..." His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword.

Giving a whimper, Jack turned her attention to the body, squinting at it before dropping down onto her knees beside it. Focused on one point she lifted the needle and stabbed down, compressing the trigger like that first Little Sister the mech had seen had done.

Ultimus watched for a moment, and then turned his attention toward the sound of approaching footsteps. Baring his fangs, he raised his blade, waiting.

It was about the third time Jack had stabbed at the body when the owner of a male voice, singing off key came through the opening metal door. Tone all over the scale he seemed at first oblivious until his eyes took in what was in front of him. There was a beat pause and Ultimus could almost see a light flicker before clicking on in the splicer's head.

"ADAM!"

"What?" Another voice behind the first asked at the outburst, sounding startled, confused and hopeful all at once.

Ultimus let out a growl, an audible warning that not even the most juiced-up druggie could mistake as anything but a warning to back off. His eyes were glowing like sulfur-yellow suns, fangs bared.

"Tin-Daddy!" The second splicer, who looked like the most normal splicer so far, just slightly too big eyes, yelped as he took in the mech that was like and not like the big guardians. That man turned and bolted the way he came without thinking about it.

The first one though... had focused on Jack and with fire coming to life on his hands and forearms, lunged for the girl.

Ultimus' growl deepened to a snarl, then became a roar. He ignored the fire, not at all bothered by it. In two huge strides he was on the splicer, bringing his sword up and around with all the strength in his arms and torso. The razor-edged blade caught the splicer just under his right arm and cleaved him in half.

Jack, not as single minded as a normal Little Sister, glanced up before retreated back into the room with the full bottle of ADAM rich blood with an, "Oh my daddy!" Vanishing back into the not so complete shadows, and ducked under a desk, having lost her nerve.

Yellow eyes flickered in her direction. Ultimus knew where she was hiding. Kicking the slain splicer out of the way, he stalked back toward her, keeping an eye out for any other idiots who might try to get past him.

A soft humming, more murmuring sound came from above and back slightly the way the two had come from. There was something up in the bare rafters of the large corridor, but out of range and holding perfectly still. Minus the diving helmet and tank, softly glowing orange eyes were watching the Cybertronian.

Ultimus stopped, turning toward the sound. Swinging the sword absently to flick off the blood, he looked up to take in the still watcher. Narrowing his eyes, he bared one fang in warning, but otherwise didn't move.

The form shifted, and the lean outline became clear, as well as the long needle/blade attached and integrated into the left arm. A metal basket was attached to her back, and in what looked more like a work suit then a diving suit the Big Sister dropped down to the ground. She looked... normal. Except for the glowing eyes, her dark hair pulled and tied back with a ribbon, the Sister looked from dead splicers to Ultimus and to the room Jack was hidden in and back to the Autobot. She blinked.

The redhead folded his arms across his chest, lifting an eyebrow at the Big Sister. "Problem?"

"...no..." The Sister said slowly, though looked confused. Mostly since Ultimus didn't look like any Big Daddy she knew of, or smelled like one, but had just basically acted like one in defense of the girl.

The Cybertronian flicked his red hair back over his shoulder. "Then why are you staring at me?"

"You don't smell...right." She said, frowning and sniffing at the air.

"And to me, it's you who smells weird," he rumbled in response. "I am Cybertronian... of no human construction or mutilation. You've never seen - or smelled - anything like me before, and you never will again."

"I will if we meet again." The Big Sister tilted her head and then glanced at the room Jack was in.

"But once I find my way home, you'll never see another of my kind again." His eyes glowed brightly. "I warn you now... attack me, and you won't like the results."

"Why would I?" Her gaze turned back to Ultimus, blinking, "You helped the Sister." She said firmly, "As long as you don't hurt the Sisters and Brothers, let them work." The elder gatherer shrugged, scratched at the skin around the integrated needle. She was visibly losing interest then, her attention span still relatively short.

"Without a guide I'd get lost just stepping out the door," he retorted. "I protect her, she helps me. It works for both of us."

The Big Sister re-focused on Ultimus and smiled, "We'll be there, when you leave." She moved forward and around the Autobot, heading off down the hall. "Rapture needs ADAM."

Ultimus' eyes narrowed at her, but he said nothing. Turning, he scanned for any more splicers, then moved toward where Jack was hiding. A sound of a teleport was heard from behind him, but Jack was still in her hiding spot. Squished as far back as possible from the light and possibly being seen by any random splicer.

The Cybertronian scanned the area, finding nothing more than random sea life outside the walls and the splicer he'd already killed. Leaning over, he peered under the desk. "The one splicer was sensible and ran with his tail firmly between his legs, but the other decided to be stupid, and he's no longer among the living."

There was a pause, "No more?" Jack peeked out, the slight yellow tinting to her eyes now more visible than they had been to start with.

"Nothing in my sensor radius," he replied, leaning against the desk.

Jack crawled out and stood, glancing around from a near a life time of paranoia before looking up at Ultimus and holding the gatherer's needle. "Got ADAM?"

Ultimus tilted his head at the needle. "Certainly smells like ADAM," he replied.

"Yeah... this is the part I don't like." Jack said as she turned the needle and unscrewed the bottle top, not needing it.

The redhead said nothing, merely watching as well as keeping a sensor open for any sign of trouble.

The girl winced before starting to drink, she stopped twice to take a breath and then gagged, "Eeewww...."

"I'm guessing it's the ADAM that makes it taste bad?" He absently licked one fang, not at all bothered by the sight of her drinking blood.

"It...it's doesn't taste bad at all." Jack admitted, making a face again, "It's the fact that it doesn't that weirds me out." She admitted, trying to think of how to explain the cravings for ADAM thanks to what was inside her.

He leaned over to sniff at the remains of the red liquid in the vial. "That should be making me ravenously hungry... But the ADAM scent is warning me that it probably won't agree with me at all. I doubt that any human or splicer in this place would fit my criteria for being 'edible'."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Queen's note: Ice Queen, aka Icy is my Chaos Knight character that I use to punt into random other worlds other than transformers, thus she is able to take on a human form; though she isn't totally human. Each Chaos Knight has an interesting quirk that is a physical side effect of being a Knight, thus why Icy can't bleed out... and is short in nearly every world she can go to XD
> 
> P.S. I reserve the right to play with Ultimus hair 3
> 
> Ultra Rodimus's note: Ulti's human form and his ability to change to human size are the result of an incident in another RP Icy and myself are working on, the second part of the Crossroads side-story to Icy's Sonic the Hedgehog Roads saga. It had to do with an accident involving the Master Emerald on Angel Island. That RP-fic has not been posted, and has been sitting in hiatus for months now, though we do drag it out from time to time.

Jack gave him an odd look, "Not everyone in Rapture uses plasmids."

"Hopefully we'll come across one before I start getting low fuel warnings." He stretched, popping something in his spine, then shook slightly, resettling armor plates. "I think we should get moving before we attract any more unwanted attention."

"Yeah, maybe see if there's some real food around." Jack said, though with little hope now that she had ADAM in her belly. The girl hesitated before looking up, "...can I have a ride?"

Ultimus grinned slightly, then reached down and lifted her onto his shoulder. "You might have to duck as we go through doorways, considering that I'm almost eight feet tall on my own."

Jack smiled back, "I can do that!" She did and once in the hall again pointed to the mental door the splicers from before had come from, "Go that way, it leads to another building of the elevators to go higher here." Ultimus nodded, turning in that direction, he started walking, keeping one hand on her leg to make sure she didn't fall off. Some people had trouble riding on a Cybertronian's shoulder even at his normal size. Yet Jack's bare feet helped her stay relatively put, even if she was leaving little discolored foot and hand prints and smudges here and there on his shoulder.

The girl looked around the arching room they walked out into, filled with what looked like displays of deep water creatures, getting her bearings, "The old train is to the right, as well as the bathysphere bays."

Ultimus inspected the chamber, taking in everything. "Interesting place..."

"It's where my parents worked." Jack said as she fought off a yawn. "I miss it when it was boring here. We lived in the upper levels of this building."

"What happened to them?" Ultimus picked his way across the room.

"I don't know," Jack said looking down, shifting to stay in place before reaching out to touch a whale bone as the mech passed by it, "I was taken away a long time ago to the orphanage. I only got back here a few days ago." She didn't say that she had or hadn't found her parents yet.

"Got back here and straight into hell?" Ultimus eyed smears of blood and less identifiable fluids, leading to a mangled corpse.

"This place isn't as bad actually." Jack judged with a thoughtful pause, tilting her head. She tensed automatically at hearing the telltale call of a Big Daddy. Being barefoot, with the dress and extractor needle she did look like a Little Sister (part of the reason she had that mask before). Though she had used the Rapture nightmares as protection growing up and surviving in the last years, when she was alone and without a mask, had often been 'kidnapped' by an upset Big Daddy that thought Jack was a Little Sister where she shouldn't be alone.

It happened enough times to have the girl reflexively wary even now.

Ultimus turned toward the sound. "That last Big Daddy seemed to think I was another of its kind... if slightly oddly shaped."

"You're about the right size and metal." Jack pointed out, "And they can't smell you."

"I'm assuming that smell plays an important part in the 'who's who' of Rapture? I can tell it plays a major part when harvesting ADAM." Ultimus made a humming sound. "And that Big Sister told me I smelled weird."

"Kinda..." Jack said slowly, "Big Daddies have a smell. I don't mind it but the adults never liked it." She paused, "You do smell weird though."

"Because I'm not human-made or from Earth at all. Not surprised I smell odd." He shrugged his other shoulder.

"You said that before." Jack kicked out her legs, as best she could before pointing to a open archway. "The trains are that way, if the tubes aren't collapsed." She had come here by the vents so Jack wasn't sure.

Nodding, Ultimus turned in that direction, heading toward the trains. "Hopefully they haven't... But from the state of this place, it wouldn't surprise me if they had."

"The Big Sisters have been pestering the Daddies and bringing down engineers for repairing," Jack said reaching up to bat at an old banner proclaiming an opening sale on the tenth level.

"To keep this city from flooding... I can see a lot of leaks. A lot of people would die if Rapture started to flood or sink." Ultimus glanced in the direction of the Big Daddy's footsteps.

Soft singing drifted over as a true Little Sister came skipping into the larger room. She was followed by a form shorter than the Rosie from before. It didn't look human at all, with a forward thrusting head/diving helmet, and its right arm had an integrated drill replacing that hand. It was following faithfully behind the tiny child that couldn't be more than five or six years old, her dress was cleaner then the first Sister, and Jack's for that matter.

Ultimus tilted his head. "So that's a different kind of Big Daddy." He eyed the Little Sister. "Girls so young are turned into harvesters?"

"That's about normal." Jack said after a moment, "I was six when they put it in me." She tilted her head as the young girl chatted in the aimless way of the very young about 'momma Lamb.'

"Put 'it' in you?" He blinked yellow eyes at her. "And who is the 'Lamb' she's mumbling about?"

"The slug." Jack blinked, Ultimus had 'seen' things that were behind doors and outside in the water already, she had thought he had 'seen' the ADAM slug imbedded into her stomach. She patted her belly not knowing her stomach was technically higher than the indicated spot.

The Cybertronian turned a penetrating stare the girl on his shoulder, using his sensors to probe her body. "The ADAM and the plasmids mask its presence. It's taking me a while to be able to see through the interference."

"It's part of being a gatherer." Jack said, looking back over at the Bouncer as it tried to keep its young charge from darting around its legs, and failing like any father.

Ultimus snorted, turning to watch. "Either on the surface or down here, normal child or harvester, kids will be kids."

The younger girl giggled as she was caught at last, lifted up for a moment and set back down. With a great amount of care, the Big Daddy patted the child's head, and allowed her to grab his thumb and 'pull' him with her. The Bouncer rumbled in a happy tone. The redhead watched for a moment, then resumed heading for the trains.

"ARG!" A voice drifted to them, coming from the direction the odd duo were headed in, "Another collapse!"

"I told you this wasn't going to work," A second, and oddly familiar voice said, "We'll have to back track to the bays."

Jack shifted, wary once more, "Aw..."

Ultimus stopped, looking in the direction of the voices. "That doesn't sound good."

"I wonder what kind of collapse." Jack said, trying to peer ahead, she poked at the Cybertronian's head even as she turned to try and either slide or more than likely fall down and off him.

The mech tilted his head, walking toward the sound. "The tunnels, perhaps? Maybe even the train itself."

The girl squeaked, "Can you hold still for a second? I want down. There's a side door I can open." Ultimus nodded, dropping to a crouch so she could slide down his arm to the floor. He watched, keeping an ear open for the speakers. Jack moved to brush herself off but froze at hearing footsteps. She darted over to a shadowed copper door, and then to the side of it before jumping to reach the vent and get into that questionable safety.

"Oof!"

Ultimus moved to where he could keep an eye on everything, transforming back into a mecha wolf the size of a Great Dane. His ears twitched back and forth, tracking sounds.

The girl just managed to wiggle in out of sight as another metal door cycled open. A man, looking halfway to being like a bouncer came stomping out and down the hall, but after a moment or two another person came by, stopping just in the door way. The woman was more human, or was human, dressed in a blue dress, boots, and had loose blond hair. She had a crowbar on her shoulder and looked familiar.

...Even had that stone still imbedded in her forehead.

Metal ears pricked straight up. He inhaled deeply, making a surprised huff at the familiar smell. Stretching, he padded forward, but not going too far from the vent. "You really do get around, don't you."

"Wha-?" the blond turned, stared and leapt away. Holding her crowbar out like a sword, paused and stared at the tool as she realized that wasn't going to work. "Aw slag."

Transforming, Ultimus crossed his arms over his chest. He tilted his head slightly, optics glowing. "Nice to see you too, Icy. And right on cue, too."

"What the slag are you doing in Rapture?" Ice Queen asked, pointing with her bar at the mech and poking him in the leg as she had to tilt her head back a bit to glare up at him, "We're 68 dimensions away, and over from your world."

"Apparently the Powers That Be got sick of messing with my boss for a change." He shrugged. "Or maybe I just got in the way. I don't know. But I'm here. And I don't dare feed on any of the residents because of this ADAM stuff. It smells dangerous." He looked toward the vent, listening for any hints that Jack was returning.

"Actually it's quite fun." Ice Queen smiled, "I just got here a week ago, but the problem is that I have to be as close to completely human as possible, can't get rid of the energon deep down but- slag I'm rambling and may have said too much." The woman clicked her jaw closed.

"I'll take your word for that." He shifted, taking a step forward. "In any case, I was running low before I arrived here, and I don't dare try to feed on the splicers. I'm not that insane." A scarlet eyebrow lifted.

The crowbar was raised again, "Uhh, I may have had some ADAM." She knew that didn't sound remotely true, but honestly Ice Queen was completely taken off guard at seeing Ultimus. "Got to go, bye!" Ice Queen bolted back the way she came, and promptly cursed as she remembered the cave in.

That proved to be so smart.

Ultimus transformed and pounced. Four legs were still faster than two, so he was on her in short order. Grabbing the nearest limb, he dragged her back toward the vent. "Can smell that you've got no ADAM in you," he informed her around the limb in metal wolf jaws.

"Ow! Fraggit, let go!" Ice Queen demanded, trying to pry open the jaws off her left arm while silently cursing human strengths, "I do not want to get an infection down here."

A large metal paw landed right between her shoulder blades, pinning her down. "You know that if you run I'll only hunt you down. Might as well get it over with, and then we go our separate ways."

"Somehow I doubt that this will be the only time." Ice Queen made a face, scowling at the mech's other paw, "Fine, but hurry up, that brute seems to think I'm his girlfriend."

"And everyone else seems to think I'm a Big Daddy." Transforming back to robot form, Ultimus drove his fangs into her throat.

Ice Queen gave a full body twitch, one hand starting to reach up before she sighed. Wincing as she felt the drain of the normal human blood, and then it would mix with energon from her true form. And though there was that drain, she didn't bleed out and keeling over like any sane normal being would have been doing.

Ultimus took enough to fill his own stomach tank, and also enough for the reserve fuel tanks he kept in subspace. That would keep him running for a good week before he needed to refuel again. Then he let go, licking his fangs. Stepping back, he returned to wolf form. "Here, you're a splicer and I'm apparently a Big Daddy. So just keep your distance from my apparent Little Sister equivalent."

Ice Queen stayed up against the wall for support before slowly sliding down to the ground, "Neeeeaaahhhgg... I wasn't planning to splice up this time..." She said, waiting for the bleeding to stop as it continued to free flow out of the re-opened scars on her neck. The red and blue-ish purple fluids oozed down and started soaking into the shoulder of her dress and generally making looking the Chaos Knight look like a horror movie victim.

She felt like one too, and blast it she was going to make Ultimus go shopping with her in his native dimension for the ruining of this vintage garment Ice Queen had been trying to save. The pirate also knew better to try anything more, knowing full well that unless she was 'on the job' for Unicron she didn't stand a chance against the taller mech in most cases.

"Then as long as you warn off your splicer buddies there shouldn't be much trouble." Ultimus sat on his haunches below the vent.

The Unicronian turned so she was leaning against the wall, "You managed to get a Little Sister? How did you do that?" She ignored the implications she could warn off all splicers since that was ridiculous to her.

"She was to be a Little Sister, but she escaped the mental brainwashing, though she has the slug-thing," he replied. "She literally ran into me just after I arrived here, and I shanghaied her as a guide, so I don't get lost in this place. I only found out she was a Little Sister, or would have been, when I killed a lurking splicer and she harvested the ADAM from the body."

"Altered sea slug." Ice Queen corrected, pulling out a photo from a pocket in her dress, unfolding it to show the mecha wolf. "Those Big Sisters will be after her once they realize she can harvest too, or their male counterparts, who seems to have a bit more free will at first."

"One of the Big Sisters watched me kill a splicer going after her while she harvested. I'm certain they already know." He flicked an ear in a lupine shrug.

"So, what do you need to know?" Ice Queen asked, poking at her neck to see how much the flow of blood had eased; finding more of a lethargic trickle in comparison to the flow that had stained a good part of her dress now.

"I know little about this place, what happened to it, or even how to navigate. The smell of ADAM and its effects confuse my sensors." Ultimus flicked his ears, tilting his head toward the vent.

"You get used to it after a day," Ice Queen said, wincing as she started to bleed again, "Helps in human form. And there are some history files in the levels above us."

"We'll get there eventually." Ultimus lifted his head, sniffing at the air.

"And here comes the brute." Ice Queen sighed pushing herself up, "Slag. I'm getting annoyed with this guy." She paused to toss a radio at the mecha wolf, "I don't why I'm giving it to you, but I'm on channel six most of the time. Watch out for Lamb Ulti."

Ultimus caught the radio, slipping it into a compartment in his armor. "Then why do you bother to hang around with him?" Yellow optics narrowed. "I'll watch out... But this Lamb person should also be watching out for me."

"He's following me!" Ice Queen huffed, once more trying to figure out how she managed to attract the psychopaths no matter what dimension she was in. At least there wasn't a Rampage equivalent here... yet. "Splicers are obsessive. And don't kill the slagger, no matter how tempting, she is a part of the needed timeline around here." The pirate added, meaning Lamb.

"Doesn't mean I can't mess with her head a little." Ultimus showed his teeth in a wicked grin.

"Or she yours," Ice Queen rolled her eyes even as she pulled up her dress to pull a knife off a belt under it, then pitched her voice in a deceptively sweet and sing song tone, "Ohhh Joooohnieee dear...!" She turned left into the larger room, paused within Ultimus' sight, her voice going back to normal if dead pan, "Oh don't do that man, it's a Big-"

"DADDY!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!"

"Second thought I'm going to the upper levels." Ice turned the other way and ran. Chaos Knight to Unicron she may be, but the femme was still at spark a pirate, and thus fully embraced the saying and life psychology of 'those that run away, live to fight and run away another day!'

Ultimus watched her go, and then turned toward the sound of the yelling. He didn't move, though, remaining at the base of the vent.

The copper colored door cycled open and Jack poked her head out, eyes wide, "Uh... it's unlocked..."

Ultimus rose to all fours, slipping through the door. "Sounds like someone is not happy."

"Yeah," the girl darted away from the door and as it closed. Jack blinked at Ultimus several times, "Big kitty." she said, having never seen a canine/lupine type of animal in her life.

Ultimus blinked. "Wolf, actually... A kind of dog." He flicked his ears, tilting his head. "And I'm big enough that you could ride on my back in this form."

Jack tilted her head, but was back to staying that certain distance from Ultimus again, up against the wall as she scooted slowly past. The Cybertronian blinked at her. She'd been happily riding on his shoulders, and now she was staying away. He was more than a little confused. Ears drooping, he padded after her.

It was the shape change really, though Jack did understand in a way that it was still Ultimus, she was more than uneasy. Also she had no background with any kind of land animal other than a few cats and rats.

Ultimus flicked his ears, then changed back to his mech form. Shaking out his limbs, he ducked slightly to keep his helm crest from getting caught in the wires hanging from the ceiling. Jack turned at the sound, not having seen a transformation from one form to another yet and her jaw dropped.

"My kind are called 'Transformers', for our ability to change form," Ultimus rumbled. "I have three other forms. A wolf, a jet plane, and a heavy cargo transport. We change form as easily as we breathe."

The twelve year old blink, and again, "...wow." That was the best her mind could come up with at the moment.

"Rapture is in too bad a condition for me to reveal my true form... My sheer size would probably break something important." Ultimus shrugged one shoulder. "I don't even really think about transforming. I just do it."

Jack didn't move away now, "I think I understand... kind of." She covered her mouth as she yawned, "The station is right here."

Ultimus looked toward the station, scanning it. "There's no one inside."

"Yeah, I took a look," Jack said as she jumped on the pressure trigger in the floor to get the door to open, "Er, there's a problem though..."

He lifted a red eyebrow. "What problem?"

Jack ran ahead into the middle of the station, turning around and opening her arms to point at both sets to tracks on either side of the room. Just tracks and water, "...No trains."

Ultimus eyed the tracks. "Hmm..." He glanced along the tracks. "How far do the tracks run?"

"I don't know. The older parts of Rapture the people at the orphanage said." Jack said, and pointed up at a map on one of the dividers that had benches. She yawned again and rubbed at her eyes, not realizing she did so, "Maybe if we open the shutter you can see?"

Ultimus looked at her for a long moment. "You're exhausted. How long has it been since you've slept?"

Jack blinked, and shrugged; she honestly had no idea. The ADAM she had before wasn't helping to keep her awake, "Don't know...?"

The mech tilted his head at her. "I think the train can wait a little..." He transformed again, this time to his truck form. The trailer itself took up a good chunk of the platform. This new transformation process nearly making his young guide jump and stumble into the water over the tracks. Detaching from the trailer, Ultimus returned to robot form, sending the code to open the rear doors. "My trailer section is armored like a battle tank. We'll be safe inside, so both of us can get some rest."

"...wow." Jack said after a moment, crouched down with the wide eyed and slightly glassy eyed stare of mild shock. After a few moments she edged closer to poke the trailer to see if it was real, then glanced back up at Ultimus not knowing what to do with the massive contraption.

Ultimus had to duck slightly as he entered the trailer, making sure that all the interior panels were sealed. Like his commander, his trailer was an armory on wheels, but virtually all the weapons it contained were too dangerous to use in the undersea city. "It's safe. We can rest inside; no one can get at us once the rear doors are closed."

Jack peered in, blinking at the better lights of the inside in comparison to what was struggling to light the station. She took a few hesitant steps into the alien environment, the bloodstains and dirt covering her made more apparent now as Jack looked all around.

Ultimus pulled off his helm as he entered, setting it aside. "There's water and cloths in those boxes in the corner, if you'd like the opportunity to wash up. I think there're some food items in another of these cartons." He opened one of the few boxes lining the far end of the trailer. "Here we go."

"Wash up?" Jack tilted her head, wondering why in the sea she would want to do that, but as soon as she saw the food (or assumed Ultimus had food was more like it) she gravitated to him almost at once.

The Cybertronian handed her the box. It was full of granola bars and assorted trail mix along with a couple of apples. Moving around Jack, he opened another box, pulling out a 4-liter jug of water. "Get some of that dirt off."

"But it hides me," Jack protested from where she was now sitting, having just dropped on the spot as she also tried to eat as much of the given food as she could. Jack was young enough that she didn't know this was a bad idea.

"Slow down," Ultimus advised. "If you eat too much, too fast, you'll get very sick." He upended two of the larger boxes, dumping a pile of assorted bits of cloth in a heap.

"I haven't eaten anything but ADAM since yesterday!" Jack protested, and then started coughing.

Yeah, she was still learning.

"Or you'll accidentally inhale something." Ultimus placed a hand on her back, then took the cap off the water bottle and fished out a plastic cup from a slightly dusty crate.

Jack gave one final cough, paused, chewed some more and swallowed again. This time with no problems. "I don't think I like inhaling it..."

"Then slow down a little. I'm not going to take it from you." The mech settled down with his back against the side wall of the trailer, setting his helm on the floor next to him. One pointed ear showed through his crimson mane.

"Is this real?" Jack asked after spotting one of the apples and turning it over in her hands, "What is it? Is it supposed to be red?"

"Yes, it is real. I come from the surface, and apples are everywhere. Red means it's ripe and good to eat." Ultimus smiled slightly, and then tilted his head, dimming the lights slightly. They were much brighter than the city lights, and were a bit hard on the eyes.

"I thought... they were..." Jack yawned, her next words slurring together and though she clutched the apple in one hand against her to keep it from being taken back, as well a half eaten granola bar in the other hand.

Ultimus tilted his head, dimming the interior lights a bit more. He watched the girl drift off, and then settled himself, crossing his arms over his chest. Closing his optics, he settled into a light recharge, though any strange sound would bring him out of it almost instantly.

Some hours later, Ultimus stirred, and then came back online, stretching to work a few kinks out of his muscle cables. He tilted his head, listening, and then turned to look at Jack. Sometime in the 'night' the girl had scooted over to one side and balled up within arm's reach of Ultimus. She was still clutching a few bars even in sleep, and... well, it was hard to tell with her frizzy hair and with the dirt and grime, but Jack looked to be considerably paler then before.

The large mech tilted his head slightly, but otherwise didn't move. Resettling, he closed his optics and allowed his attention to drift, always keeping a sensor open for any sign of trouble.

A faint sound came from above, on the top of the trailer. Light, quick footsteps were heard next as whoever ran from one side to the other and paused. Yellow eyes opened. Turning his head, Ultimus tracked the sound, but since it was outside the trailer he didn't bother moving.

There was another set of footsteps and the two, both bodies had too much ADAM in them not to be the Big Sisters, seemed to be darting around and over the trailer. Possibly exploring this giant new thing in their territory and generally trying finding out what the slag it was.

Ultimus made a soft snort of amusement, listening to the sounds.

The two slowed after a few minutes and faintly the sound of first one and then another teleport was heard. Only to return. The Big Sisters were popping out and back for about an hour before they finally left and didn't come back, possibly satisfied or showing the trailer off to others. But during that flurry of activity there had been that distorted 'laugh' more than once.

Ultimus arched an eyebrow, but he figured that whatever it was could wait. He'd wait for Jack to wake up and have some more food before he ventured outside the trailer. The girl gave a sigh in her sleep, shifting and reaching out as if looking for something before curling up again.

The redhead stayed where he was; if she shifted any closer she'd end up curled up against his leg. He smiled slightly, watching her. Jack did end up inching closer, as much as gravitating to the warmth as the want to be next to someone. Or next to safety as her mind was starting to hope for. Ultimus smiled slightly, letting her move closer. Otherwise he didn't move.


	4. Chapter 4

It was a long while before Jack seemed to come back to life, having slept quiet bone-limp the whole time before lifting her head at last and blowing at the hair in her face, "I'm too full." She said, more mumbled, Jack was also definitely paler then before going to sleep several hours ago.

The redhead looked at her, tilting his head. "Are you all right?"

"Too full." Jack said again as she pushed herself up, looking around with yellow shined eyes, not completely covered over like the Little Sisters. But similar enough, "I need to get empty... too much ADAM."

The mech shifted, standing up and fishing a bucket out of the corner, from a stack of buckets. He placed it in front of her, and then leaned back against the wall of the trailer. Jack took it, her small hands grasping the rim as she looked queasy, leaning forward enough that she could heave into the bucket. The girl's body shook for a few hard moments before Jack sat back down, not bothering at first to lick or wipe her lips or chin so the thick, green fluid remained as Jack recovered from that unexpected action.

Ultimus blinked once or twice. "So this green stuff is ADAM?" He could smell the stuff, that same smell that came off every splicer he'd yet come across.

"Raw ADAM." Jack nodded, trying to clean her mouth and swallowing several times so not to waste the ADAM. "I still got some more in but it's not as full anymore." She looked down at the bucket, wondering if she could get a new plasmid with it.

That was the nice thing about having the slug, other than healing, was that given a day or two she could make her own ADAM.

"So this is how ADAM is made." The redhead eyed the bucket. "But there couldn't have been that much in that splicer's blood," Ultimus pointed out.

"Nuh-uh," Jack shook her head, and then gave a hesitant smile as she admitted, "I made it."

"So that's what the slug does. It takes in some ADAM and makes a lot more." He pondered that.

"Why's it so clean in here?" Jack asked as she looked around again, the question slightly random as she hadn't fully woken up mentally yet.

Ultimus let out an amused rumble. "This is the inside of my trailer. We both climbed inside some hours ago so we could get some rest in a safe place. You were so exhausted you were about to pass out." He tilted his head as he retrieved his helm. "There was some movement outside a while ago... Sounded like a curious Big Sister or two. Could hear them teleporting."

Jack flinched as he said Big Sisters, looking around again as if expecting one to poof out of nowhere. With her guard down she was showing her childish side more, "...what now?"

"There's no one anywhere within my sensor range now... They left hours ago. I heard a Big Sister-ish laugh, so it wouldn't surprise me to find the Rapture version of grafitti on the outside of my trailer when we emerge."

The girl looked at the closed door, not sure if she wanted to go back out yet. Then she spotted a bottle of water and pounced on it. Ultimus set his helm down atop a box, pulling out a brush and running it through his scarlet mane a few times before quickly tying his hair back in a ponytail. Picking up his helm again, he watched Jack.

She was attempting to, and failing miserably at, opening the bottle. Used to something else, but more from trying to rush to get the water, as if expecting it to be snatched away from her. The girl really didn't seem to have been faring well before meeting (being thrown into) Ultimus.

After watching for a moment, Ultimus leaned over and unscrewed the cap, handing her the bottle. "Drink slowly. If you think having food trying to get into your lungs is unpleasant, water is worse."

Thankfully, Jack paused before trying to gulp down the water, remembering the choking before sleep at least. She still drank a little fast, but not all at once. "Tastes funny..."

"There's no salt in it. It's pure, filtered water. No plant growth in it, either. That's probably why it tastes odd to you," Ultimus replied.

Jack tilted her head, "Huh..." She paused and pointed to the brush the mech had used before, "What is that?"

"Hairbrush," he answered, holding it up. "With hair as long as mine, if I don't brush it now and then it develops very large tangles."

The girl blinked and looked down and slightly to the side to stare at her own frizzed and tangled hair. "Oh." Jack glanced back up, wanting to ask something but not sure if she should.

A scarlet eyebrow lifted.

"...can I have my hair brushed?" Jack asked in a tiny and young voice, her still shined eyes wide again.

The redhead smiled. "Certainly." He settled on the floor of the trailer, putting his helm aside, and waited for her to approach. The girl scooted over, leaving behind the ADAM for now and then hesitated a moment before crawling up into Ultimus' lap. In comparison she did look tiny.

Very gently, the mech began working out the tangles, easing the brush through her hair, taking care not to pull. Every now and then he'd remove a twig or a bit of metal or some less identifiable debris, placing it aside while he continued to work the tangles out. In some places the tangles were almost glued together by dirt. He used a few palmfuls of water to soften the 'glue' so he could brush it out.

Of course, having a child, no matter how she had to grow up in some terms living in Rapture, Jack was still a child. That meant random bouts of restless wiggling here and there and as Ultimus worked. Of course having a very active and too curious Lacat as a pet, the mech was able to deal with this.

During this time Jack seemed to build up more courage to ask about some of the new things she could see in the trailer. Including, "Why is there a bunch of fabric over there?"

"Most of us with truck forms tend to keep some bits of fabric in our trailers. They're quite useful for cleaning ourselves off when we find ourselves fender-deep in mud... Some of my comrades are obsessively vain and are always polishing themselves. I'd sent my last load to be disposed of, since they were stained and worn out, and this is the new load. There are a lot of stores that make a fair profit selling their leftover cloths to my people for various purposes," Ultimus answered.

"The blue's pretty," Jack offered, looking down at her once yellow dress, then remembering tilted her head back. "Ultimus?" She asked, using the mech's name for the first time.

"Yes?" He looked up from his careful picking at another tangle.

"Why do you have food-food if you eat blood too?" Jack asked, tilting her head back to look upside-down at the mech. She wasn't bothered completely since what she was, or had in her stomach.

"My people work with humans quite a bit. Those of us who aren't off on missions all the time occasionally are asked to run cargo, mostly cross-country. I've made a few of those runs, often with a passenger. Since we don't often stop, most of us have learned to carry a small supply of food with us. That box was from a shipment I was carrying. The shipper had sent too much, so a couple of the boxes were left in my trailer," he replied.

"Oh." Pause, "Can I still have that apple?"

Ultimus made that amused rumble again. "Of course."

Jack closed her eyes after a moment, not minding the slight tugs now and then. Though she could use about five baths (at least) with her hair being combed out, Jack was really looking more like a girl again.

Ultimus was silent for a long moment. "What happened to this city? From the look of the place, it was a thriving community for a while. What happened to leave it like this?"

"Bad things." Jack said, and blinked as the question sank in. She blinked again, "Ryan...and splicers... there was a war." She put a hand over her stomach and then tapped her head, "I don't get all of the memories from ADAM. But I know there was fighting for the city."

Ultimus made a thoughtful sound. "Maybe someone tried to control the supply? I can see that touching off a war."

"Maybe there's something in the papers?" Jack offered.

The large mech hummed thoughtfully. "I'll have to see if I can find a newspaper or get into the database."

"The archives are in Minerva's Den!" Jack perked up, knowing that much.

"I'm curious to know what happened to this city... I haven't seen death and neglect like this since the ruins of the arenas after my people threw off our enslavers." Ultimus picked apart another tangle.

"Not all of Rapture is like this." Jack looked back, "But some places are worse... like Siren Alley"

"Siren Alley?" Ultimus echoed.

"One of the pumping stations," Jack explained, "There's stations all over, but I heard Siren Alley is getting to be really bad."

"Pumping station?" Ultimus thought for a moment. "To keep the water out, I assume."

"And power going." The girl piped up, "There's the ge... ge-o vents?"

"Geothermal? Hot springs or heat vents?"

Jack scrunched up her face as she thought, trying to remember her lessons from before being taken, and Ryan Amusements, "Rapture takes heat and power from the lava in the trenches...?"

The redhead nodded. "Geothermal. Much more efficient than burning oil or coal. And much less messy."

"Oil's for machines not burning." Jack pointed out.

"Oil is made into gasoline, which is burned in cars and factories... Smells bad and makes a lot of mess."

"We use power from the vents or," She held out her arms, hands palm up and willed her Electrobolt plasmid to come to life, "Plasmids for some things."

"Still a far cleaner source of fuel than some in use on the surface." Ultimus looked at the electrical arcs with interest.

Jack played with the sparks for a moment before letting the blue veins fade away. She looked back at Ultimus again smiling.

"Very interesting things, plasmids... But I doubt they would work for me at all, and I'm not especially eager to try." Ultimus pulled a long twig from the center of a tangle and picked up the brush again, running it smoothly through her hair.

"I like them." The girl said, looking around and wriggling in place again.

"Where I come from there's nothing like them. Though there are some natural powers that resemble plasmids. Like my commander's abilities." Ultimus picked apart the last tangle, brushing out Jack's hair until it lay smooth. "There."

Jack reached up to feel the new (relatively speaking) feeling of having combed out hair, she couldn't help a giggle, "Feels pretty... is there any ribbon?" She asked hopefully.

Ultimus grinned, fangs glinting for a moment. He contemplated the boxes lining his trailer for a moment and then reached out to open one. He fished inside for a moment. "I think I remember seeing some ribbon in here... Ah. Here we go." He withdrew a length of sky-blue satin ribbon.

Jack's eyes turned glassy for a moment as she stared at the ribbon, and then acting purely her age she gave a delighted sound and reached for it. The redhead let her have it, still smiling as he watched. Despite everything she'd been through, she was still a little girl at heart.

She felt the ribbon, marveling at it since those she had ever had were not the best and most times used or scrap. Jack attempted to tie her hair back with it then, but though she couldn't quite get it into a bow she was very pleased with it... lop sided and all. The Cybertronian's grin softened into a real smile as he watched the girl, leaning back against the side of the trailer.

"There!" Jack all but preened on Ultimus' lap, doing her best to pose like she'd seen ladies do on posters.

The Cybertronian rumbled in amusement. "It looks great," he murmured, eyes glowing softly.

Jack beamed, paused as she looked a little queasy again before the girl scrambled to get off Ultimus' lap and over to that bucket again. Ultimus watched sympathetically; he'd been sick several times after consuming the energon of a mech who'd been ill or poisoned. It was never a pleasant feeling.

"So," Jack sat back up, licking her lips and swallowing a few times before looking back at the mech, "Where do you want to go now?"

"I'm curious about this city and what happened to it." He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "We can avoid the worse areas for the time being, though."

The girl blinked, thinking a moment as she concentrated on her mental map, "So you want to see the archives in Minerva's den?" She scrunched up her face, "We'd have to go up though and through Providence."

"I won't let anyone - or anything - hurt you," he rumbled softly.

Jack tilted her head first to one side and then the other as she stared at the Cybertronian. "...I think I can trust you." She said quietly of course the facts that the mech has protected her before as more importantly in her young that he had food and water went a long way.

"The leader of my people trusts me to guard his life, and I have never betrayed that trust," Ultimus told her quietly. "It's common knowledge that I would risk my own life for anyone in my care."

She didn't fully understand that completely, but Jack blinked as she asked, "...like a Daddy?"

"Something like. He trusts me to watch his back, to guard him from any danger. I've earned more than a few of these scars while doing that." Ultimus ran light fingers over the old scars on his armor.

Jack stood and came back over to peer at one before looking back up at the mech. She paused a moment before hugging his closer arm. The mech made a purring sound deep in his chest, raising his other hand to rub her back gently before lowering his hand again. She looked over at her shoulder at the bucket, "...can I leave that here and get it later?" Jack asked, not liking the idea of carrying visible ADAM in the open.

Ultimus nodded. "Yes, you can leave it in here, and it'll still be here later. It'll be fine in subspace with the rest of my trailer and cargo."

"How would you get if we find a Gatherer's Garden?" Jack frowned a bit, remembering how big the trailer looked on the outside- taking up a lot of the station.

"I can call the bucket out of subspace without bringing the rest of the trailer with it," he replied. "I can't explain how it works... But it's a skill completely normal to my people. And it prompts a lot of questions as to where various parts go when we transform."

"...huh." Jack didn't get it, and with no ADAM given memories to draw on to explain subspace she shrugged, trusting Ultimus. "Okay. So we can go out now?"

"If you're ready, yes, we can go out." Ultimus looked toward the trailer's rear doors, sending the signal to open them. With the faint hum of hydraulics, the ramp lowered into place, the doors swinging open.

Jack started for the opening doors, pausing to pick up the gatherer's needle she had dropped earlier, and also seemed to have forgotten about the shotgun she had before as well. It was somewhat too big for her anyways, besides the needle itself was an effective weapon if used right. She poked her head out, and then yelped as a piece of kelp landed on her head.

Ultimus picked up the shotgun as he followed her out. It looked more like a child's toy in his hand, but it was safer than most of his own weapons. With the possible exception of his flechette rifle. He blinked at the kelp, then stepped out and turned to look at his trailer. "That's different..."

It wasn't really covered, but decorated with different strings and leaves of kelp. From red to green, brown, white and a few that were glowing in the dim lights. Jack backed down the ramp tilting her head to one side and then the other until she ran into the mech's legs and stopped.

"I think Big Sister likes you."

"It's certainly an interesting look," Ultimus replied. "So this is what those two Big Sisters were up to. I could hear them teleporting in and out and laughing, but I never looked out to see what they were doing."

"I've seen them annoy splicers doing this," Jack said holding the long red kelp leaf that had fallen on her, "Or put this on some of the Big Daddy's tanks."

"I guess even Big Sisters get bored sometimes." Ultimus touched one large leaf. "I don't recognize most of these plants."

"My parents said that some showed up around Rapture after it was made." Jack said helpfully, padding away enough to look at the side of the trailer and giggled as she saw the big fish made from the glowing strands stuck on the side.

"So they're unique to the Rapture ecosystem." Ultimus followed her, smiling as he saw the patterns made from the kelp, "Very artistic."

"I like it." Jack said and with an impish grin, put the piece of kelp on the trailer and darted off to the edge of the station platform, looking around.

Ultimus chuckled, making sure the images were permanently stored in his memory banks. Then he placed a hand on the side of the trailer, sending it and the kelp into subspace.

The girl was wandering a little farther down, to the open control booth where she started to poke around. She pulled a lever with a huff, peeking out to see the metal shutters start to pull upwards, letting in filtered, but soft light. Once the shutters were up, part of the underwater cityscape was clearly visible. Looking like an older New York almost, but under water.

The redhead walked over to join her, looking out into the water. He hummed slightly as he looked over the cityscape. "Quite impressive." Movement caught his attention, and he watched a slug of some kind crawl up the window.

"ADAM," Jack said after spotting the slug, the thing had to be a good five inches long as it worked its way to some kind of plant at the top of the window. The girl wrapped her arms around her middle and made faces at the careless slug.

"That's an ADAM slug?" Ultimus peered at it. "And you have one of these things inside you?"

The girl nodded, "Uh-huh. All gatherers do."

Ultimus eyed the slug, running some intense scans on it. Data scrolled past his optics, being stored in a folder to be pondered later. Then he turned his attention back to the cityscape. "Rapture is quite an impressive feat of engineering, despite its current state of decay."

"This is only part of Rapture," Jack said, some words muffled as she was pressed against the glass, looking for a building that wasn't in sight, "We can see more in the higher levels. Squid!"

Ultimus followed her line of sight, optics brightening as he watched the squid. "If there were a city like this where I come from, there would be a large sea serpent swimming around it, just watching all those who would flock to the windows to watch him."

Jack looked up at the mech, having heard the word serpent before but the meaning, or just not that name. Shrugging she looked at the giant squid again before, "I like squid, but there's no more cans around here anymore." The girl paused and then held her arms up to Ultimus hopefully.

The redhead grinned, lifting her up onto his shoulders. Then he decided to answer the unspoken question. "Serpents are animals with scaled skins, and they have no arms or legs. One of my comrades turns into a serpent that is specialized for life underwater. He's not much use on land."

"Soo... it's like those bones in the fossils." Jack brightened as she remembered something.

Ultimus tilted his head, creating a holo-image of the serpent mech in question. Poseidon had been cruising through the shallow waters when the redhead had spotted him last, a cloud of fish in escort, hiding in his thick creamy white mane. "This is his serpent form. The fish think his mane is seaweed, so he always has a cloud of hangers-on."

Remembering some of her at home lessons, some of the few things about the surface level (and most of that had been only about sea life), Jack couldn't help it, "What does he do if flying fish lay their eggs on him?"

The redhead laughed. "I've seen him with fish eggs on him... When that happens he either gets someone to carefully scrape them off, or he visits a cleaning station, and other fish eat the eggs off him. Usually he tries his best to get them scraped off safely, so they can be hatched."

Jack smile and ducked the door and pointed to the copper one they had come through before, "Go back to that one big room."

Ultimus nodded, turning and walking back out. He poked his head through the door first, quickly scanning the area, then stepped out into the main hall. There was no one alive, though a hulking lump that had been the Brute Splicer Ultimus had seen before if briefly with Ice Queen. Jack wrinkled her nose at the gaping hole where its chest had been before unwisely ticking off the Bouncer.

"Messy," was all Ultimus said about it, looking at the crumpled heap on the floor. "So that's the work of the drill, hm?"

Jack nodded, but she was now looking around, taking a moment to remember where things were and using his unexpected new height to get another general look at thing from this angle. "The big stairs over to the left." She directed.

Ultimus approached the stairs, climbing them in a soundless trot. They didn't even creak under his feet as he made his way up to the next level.

"I think, the lower levels here were for offices." Jack said looking around, "mid level was where I lived, and food and the tunnels higher up..."

"Something like the cities I'm familiar with," the Cybertronian mused, glancing around curiously.

The girl tilted her head, hearing voices but they were distant. "I think... the elevators are down this hall and to the left."

The redhead turned in the indicated direction. One pointed ear twitched under his helm as he kept track of the voices. Inhaling, he pondered the scents. "Smells like splicers. But they haven't noticed us, and they're pretty far away. Can hardly smell them."

"Maybe they won't bother us if they think you're a new Big Daddy?" Jack offered.

"Everyone seems to think I'm a Big Daddy already," Ultimus replied, amused. "No one has ever heard of or seen a Cybertronian here, so they fit me into a category they're familiar with. I'm taller than a typical human and I'm covered in armor; therefore, I must be a Big Daddy."

Jack nodded at his words before tilting her head back and sniffing, "...eeewww..."

Ultimus' nostrils flared as he inhaled, curling his lip slightly. "Rust and rot and death..."

"There's a dead Big Daddy ahead." Jack shook her head and pointing, "I can smell the ADAM and that other smell, but not the good one from them."

"That explains the smells of death and rust... and that faint whiff of what smells like hydraulic fluid." Ultimus' eyes glowed brightly as he stared ahead, trying to locate the dead Big Daddy. Perhaps it would have a weapon he could use; the drill looked interesting, but he didn't have the systems to integrate one.

The girl shifted and peered down at the ground over the back of Ultimus' shoulder before looking around again and sniffing once more she pointed to an open door to the right, "It's over there."

The mech eyed the door, then stepped over to investigate. Pulling a small hand light out of subspace, he shone it on the lifeless hulk, inspecting it from any angle he could. And trying to figure out what its weapon was.

"It's an older Rosie model." Jack guessed from her spot at the same time the light glinted off of the metal of a rivet gun. Looking the same as that live Rosie had, just with some blood splashed onto it. A few orange ammo packs were laying near it.

"Quite formidable beings." Ultimus stepped around the corpse to pick up the rivet gun. The hydraulics in his arm whirred faintly as he hefted the weapon, looking it over, then collected the ammo. "With that armored dive suit protecting them, they must be quite hard to take down." He looked at the Rosie again, then pushed it over with one foot so he could peer inside the armor, making a surprised sound.

"What?" Jack asked, trying to see what the mech was doing even as she latched onto his head so not to fall over.

"I had thought they were humans wearing the suits... But apparently I was mistaken." Ultimus' optics were bright and slightly paler as he ran some deep scans. "The human appears to have been grafted onto the suit... or the suit grafted onto him."

"Grafted...?" Jack asked, confused at the new word.

"Attached to or bonded to." Ultimus peeled back a piece of the dive suit. "The suit actually is the skin now... The organs were attached to the inside."

The girl made a face at the mix of scents that just became stronger, wavering for a moment and her grip loosening.

Ultimus shifted his grip on the rivet gun, lifting his hand to keep her from falling off his shoulder and into that decaying mess. Finishing his scans and filing away the results, he left the dead Big Daddy alone. "These Gatherer's Garden things are where you get plasmids?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Uh-huh," Jack nodded as she slowly came out of it, pushing back memories of the start of the training/mental conditioning of a Little Sister. "They're all over Rapture."

"And ADAM is payment for plasmids?" Ultimus moved down the corridor.

"Yeah," Jack nodded, "It's also a second kind of money." She pulled out a five dollar bill from a pocket in her dress, holding it for Ultimus to see.

Ultimus looked at the bill, tilting his head slightly to one side. "Considering the state of Rapture right now, I can't see how paper money or coins would be of much use."

"Vending and the band-aid machines don't take ADAM." Jack shrugged putting the bill away. "And some places stores are still open."

"Ahh." The redhead nodded his understanding.


	5. Chapter 5

As they turned, following signs that still clung to the walls and indicated the way to a lobby and the elevators. As they stepped into the lobby something suddenly lit up to the left.

"WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS OF VALUES!" A recording announced at an unusually high volume as its motion sensor was triggered. Jack gave a short startled scream, completely forgetting a vending machine was in the lobby, and reflexively latched onto Ultimus.

Ultimus' head snapped around, baring his fangs at the sudden sound. The rivet gun whipped around to point in the direction from which the sound had come. Then he realized it was a vending machine, and he slowly relaxed.

The girl all but attached to his helm and shoulder gave a small squeak.

"Vending machine," Ultimus approached it, scrutinizing it. "One I've never seen before." The machine chattered away with its recordings, trying to get some sales.

"Those things are so loud." Jack complained, "But they do have good cakes some times."

"So this is one of the food machines?" Ultimus eyed it. "What other kinds are there?"

"The ammo one, the fix it and... make it ones." Jack said after thinking for a moment.

"Medical kits? First Aid supplies? I can see why those would be needed." Ultimus nodded.

"I don't need those," Jack said proudly and squirmed to get down.

Ultimus lifted her to the floor, scanning the area to make sure there was nothing hazardous in the area. While Jack was with the vending machine, the Cybertronian examined his new weapon, loading it and readying it for use, for when it was needed.

Finding nothing she wanted (no candy), and being full from the food she had in the Autobot's trailer as well as ADAM, Jack soon abandoned the thing. She walked over to the elevators, poking a call button for 'up.' Ultimus trotted after her, holding the rivet gun at a relaxed but alert angle. Anyone who didn't get that message would regret it should they get too close and prove themselves a threat.

The doors chimed and opened, Jack hopped in and looked back to the mech, suddenly wondering if he'd, you know, fit. Ultimus blinked, sub-spacing helm and gun. He was big, but he could fit himself into tight spaces if he had to. Transforming to his wolf mode, he wedged himself in, sitting up on his haunches to take up less space.

Jack stared as the door closed and the music started. But this time she didn't seem as weirded out by the new form. She looked at the different buttons, slowly reading to herself before poking one. The elevator groaned and sluggishly started to climb up.

Ultimus' yellow eyes glowed softly as he lowered his muzzle a bit. His wolf mode was at least a big as a Great Dane; some people would claim him to be the size of a small pony. Easily big enough for Jack to ride like a pony. As the music sang Daddy won't you please come home a small hand reached out to touch the mechawolf's nose. Ultimus in turn lowered his head into her hand, very gently touching her shoulder with his nose.

Jack smiled tentatively, using her free hand to pet the side of the Autobot's head. Though he wasn't furry, it wasn't a bad experience at all and as far as she knew no one else in Rapture could do this. Pointed ears flicked back and forth as he lowered his head a bit more. A soft rumbling purr came from somewhere in his chest.

Trying not to poke him with her gatherer's needle, Jack giggled, "I thought cats purred."

"So do mechs who've learned how to vibrate their vocal circuits just right," was the reply. "Not all of my kind can. I also wag my tail when I'm happy, but there's not enough room in here." His tail twitched against his paws.

Jack hummed and was about to say something when a high sound cut her off. She looked up, "That sounded like Big Sister..." Ultimus turned toward the sound, ears going up straight. Yellow eyes flashed, sulfur-bright. Jack shifted closer automatically, "She doesn't seem happy..."

The mecha wolf wriggled around until he was sideways, crouching as low as he could. "Climb on. You can hold on as tight as you feel you need to."

The girl gave him an odd look and shifted to puts her hands on his back, but before she could the elevator shuttered again as is slowed and stopped. It cheerfully dinged and opened its doors to show the next lobby that was, in a way, a war zone

A full on splicer attack- or rather a small war was going on, in the middle of it all was a Little Sister bending over a corpse, an unconscious Big Daddy not far away. Three half spliced people where trying to form a ring around the Sister, each of the three had butterfly masks. They clapped hands to ears with other more insane splicers as a piercing, vibrating scream came from the Big Sister that had been running from the smaller gatherer to the Big Daddy. The man made demon of Rapture was tearing through the attackers with fire and telekinetics, screaming wordlessly in her enraged state.

Ultimus flattened his ears back and then decided to get back to bipedal form, scooping Jack up and holding her in the curve of one arm, shielding her with his own thick armor plating. He stayed back, as far into the shadows of the elevator as he could get (even knocking out the light above), watching carefully, ready to fight if any one of those splicers came their way.

None seem to see them as they launched at the butterfly wearers. One screaming as the Big Sister, the biggest and oldest so far with 'claws' on her right hand tore into the Splicer before pouncing on another. She spun around hearing the human helpers falling to two of the flexible Spider splicers. She screamed again and with her plasmids lifted up a hunk of rock almost as big as she was, lobbed it at one.

The Big Sister bounded in to finish the other splashing in puddles of water and blood, running right in front of Ultimus, when she was hit with an electrobolt plasmid. Twitching, jerking and freezing in place she made a garbled word of panic.

Ultimus used the point of his sword to flick the Big Sister out of the water and away from the current, but otherwise made no move to interfere. His optics were narrow and glowing with golden fire as he edged around the fight, doing his best to go unnoticed by the splicers. But, should any of them notice and make a move in the direction of him and Jack, they were dead.

The armored young woman stumbled, but threw a fireball to save the Little Sister before the arcs of energy faded from her bleeding form. Air hissed out of the tank on her back but she bounded over to snatch the younger gatherer up now that the child filled her extractor needle. Ignoring protests she dumped the Little sister over her shoulder and into the basket on her back before running like hell, splicers bolting after, only to start screaming in the dark.

When it all faded Jake risked a peek out as the Big Sister's slow, laugh echoed back. The girl squeaked in fear.

"They won't get near you," Ultimus rumbled. "I won't let them." He continued moving away from the scene, glancing at the unconscious Big Daddy as he eased around a corner.

"I didn't know it was like that up here." Jack whispered, wrapping her arms around Ultimus' one as best she could.

"They took down the Big Daddy... He doesn't smell dead, though." He vented air through the vents on the sides of his neck. "Perhaps it wasn't like this up here before, but in a war zone nothing stays the same for long. I've been part of two wars spanning nearly eighty million years, so I speak from experience."

"Those were Family members," Jack said a little bit later, when her nerves had calmed down. She looked up at the mech's optics.

"Family?" Ultimus gave her a curious look, the fiery glow of his eyes dimmer to a softer glow.

"You hear it about it on the PA," Jack pointed up at a speaker in a high corner, "They took over half of Rapture."

"And they hunt down Little Sisters, apparently." Ultimus growled softly. He looked at the speaker. "So that's what all that babbling was about."

"Nooo, they were the ones with the flitterby masks," Jack put her hands up to half cover her face in imitation.

"The ones helping the Big Sister?"

The girl nodded, "...or were trying too..."

Ultimus looked a bit puzzled. "Most splicers are trying to get the ADAM from the Little Sisters, but these ones are trying to save them... That confuses me."

"The Family is weird," Was all Jack could offer to explain that.

The redhead filed that away for future reference and then glanced around, making sure there was no danger nearby. His tight hold on Jack eased, but he didn't put her down. She didn't seem to want to be put down, and only squirmed for a better position to look around to be sure they were going the right way. But there were a few signs that directed the way to the next building.

Ultimus trotted quietly down the corridor, the rivet gun once again held in a relaxed yet ready position. His gaze swept over the signs, following the indicated directions.

Jack pointed at one of the bare metal colored doors with fish on the sides, "That's the tunnel junction to Providence."

Nodding, Ultimus walked over to the door. He narrowed his optics, scanning for anything that might be lurking on the other side before approaching it. The door cycled open for him, revealing the arching tunnel, lit from the outside glow of the city, that was now more clearly visible here higher up from the sea floor.

"Pretty." Jack said, spotting a school of glowing and flashing fish.

"There is a great deal of beauty under the seas," Ultimus agreed. "From coral in all its rainbow of colors to fish like living jewels. I'm not exactly built to go and be able to see it myself, but Pos' brings up incredible images every time he surfaces."

"You can see things here," Jack pointed out, waving her arms to mean everything, the city as well as the tunnel they were in.

"It's an impressive sight," Ultimus replied, looking at the view. On impulse he pulled out a red light and shone it out into the water; a passing swarm of tiny fish lit up in bright colors before flitting out of sight again.

From the safety of the curve in his other arm, the girl gave a soft laugh, leaning forward to watch those fish vanish. "Cee...ce...cecro. I can't say it."

Ultimus lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I remember that Pos' told me he watched deep-water fish with red light. I've never tried it myself. But they are beautiful."

"Shark." Jack said after tilting her head back and looking almost over the mech's arm to look at the world upside down. She tilted her head a little in the same pose as she watched the mentioned shark go after a floating splicer body.

Ultimus snorted, reaching up to tap lightly on the wall of the tube. "I wouldn't," he said in the direction of the uncaring shark. "He'll probably give you indigestion."

"I don't think it cares." Jack observed, still perfectly happy in her odd position.

"Sharks can eat almost everything," Ultimus replied. "I've heard of sharks being caught with license plates, rolls of wire fencing, crates of nails, cans, and just about anything else that can fit in their mouths and in their stomachs."

"What's a license plate?" Jack asked as she moved at last to climb up on the Autobot's shoulders.

"It's a rectangular piece of metal with a series of numbers and letters on it, each one a unique combination. They're used to identify motor vehicles, to register them and who owns them. I have a license plate, though mine is a special plate, since I have no owner and I'm not of Earth," he replied. "Sometimes if one ends up in the water, a shark will think it's food and swallow it."

"Are sharks not that smart on the surface?" Jack frowned, "It doesn't seem smart."

"Sharks are mostly driven by instinct, hardwired into them by millions of years of evolution. Most of the shark brain is dedicated to smell... They can smell a drop a blood a mile away, or more. That instinct tells them to investigate anything that might possibly be edible. Even if it actually isn't," the Cybertronian replied.

"There's a cross hub...thing." Jack pointed ahead, "We just keep going straight."

"I see it." Ultimus nodded. He glanced down the other tunnels, continuing to walk straight.

To the left was empty, down the right a feline sat alone and grooming its fur. Jack glanced at it warily as it looked up, eyes glinting a greenish yellow from within.

Ultimus tilted his head at the cat, noting the glow.

"One of the bad kitties." Jack said, "It's eaten ADAM corpses."

The redhead let out a deep rumbling growl, the sound that identified a bigger, stronger, meaner predator. Even packs of rabid cyber-wolves would turn tail and slink away at that sound. He glared at the feline. The cat slanted its ears back, baring fangs in a hiss as its fur fluffed and sparked before bounding away farther into that tunnel.

"Those who learn to speak 'predator' have few problems with competition, or threats," Ultimus explained.

"I don't like those kitties." Jack said after a few moments absorbing his words, partly understanding. "Some of the birds in Arcadia are like that."

"Infected with ADAM?" Ultimus pondered that. "How does that work in animals, anyway?"

"I'm not sure," Jack frowned, "But it makes them mean to a lot of people, and splicers. Some spark or poof fire but they get bigger. The Big Sisters like them."

"I would bet the Big Sisters would keep them as pets if they could." Armor plates bristled and resettled along the mech's spine. "I can prove myself a bigger, meaner predator to cats and dogs, but birds are a bit trickier."

"I've never seen a dog in rapture, other than a book." The girl carefully moved on the moving Cybertronian until she was comfortable on the shoulder. She looked ahead at the next air lock door and back to what was visible of the cityscape for a moment. "There's a Daddy!" She pointed.

Ultimus lifted his arm for her to brace herself against until she settled herself. Hearing that, he looked in the indicated direction. "Alone?"

"Well he's out side, on the other passage way there." Jack pointed again at the semi distant Rosie that was welding, "Repairing."

The redhead paused to look, watching curiously as the Big Daddy worked. "Repair crew and watchdogs."

"Big Sisters work outside too." Jack said, getting ready to duck again, "I've seen them helping the Big Daddies rebuild a flooded building... some of them are really good at it too."

"Well, if they didn't repair the leaks or the damage, the city would flood, the Little Sisters and the splicers and everyone who's not in a dive suit would drown. Where would they all go?" Ultimus shrugged his unoccupied shoulder.

There was a long pause and then a hesitant guess, "...up?"

"If they can swim, they could go up... But I would suspect it would be a long swim, considering how far from shore Rapture seems to be." Sharp yellow optics scanned the visible part of the city.

"I heard Big Sisters can go a long time without eating if they have ADAM." Jack offered, watching the door cycle open and ducked so not to get hit. "Not as long as Big Daddies though."

"I think the surface dwellers would be seriously freaked out if they saw a Big Daddy or Big Sister walking out of the sea onto a beach. It would bring to mind stories of aliens and sea monsters." Ultimus ducked his head slightly, making sure the crest of his helm cleared the doorframe.

"But the Big Sisters do go up to the surface." Jack said, "They have for the last few years." She motioned upwards and looked around at what should have been a well lit lobby, but was only dimly let by a few scattered lamps. "Where's the power gone?"

"Perhaps there's a problem with the power systems, or salt water corruption." Ultimus pulled a light from subspace, attaching it to his helm and turning it on. A powerful beam of white light lit the corridor, casting hard shadows.

Jack was looking up though, and slid forward, hoping to be caught, but suddenly not wanting anything to do with being up high. Ultimus caught her neatly, resettling her in the curve of his arm, against his chest. The metal of his torso was warm to the touch, not cool as normal human metals usually were. He looked at her, pointing the bright light away so as not to blind her, then cautiously proceeded forward.

"Keep an eye above." Jack all but whispered, her own gaze faintly glowing yellow in the darkness, "Spider Splicers like the dark."

"I don't smell anything nearby, and my sensors don't detect anything." The yellow glow of his optics took on a slightly different hue as he activated his night vision systems.

"They still come out of nowhere." Jack warned, squirming to get closer to the Autobot.

Ultimus raised his rivet gun, sensors sweeping the dark hallways. The light mounted on his helm probed the shadows.

The girl sniffed, distracted by the smell of ADAM and fresh blood, but she didn't ask to be put down. "If we go straight and down a few floors, there should be a Gatherer's Garden and the way to Minerva."

The redhead nodded, striding down the corridor, keeping his optics open. About halfway down the dark hall, the rivet gun shifted aim and fired a single shot, bringing a twisting form off the ceiling. A spider splicer, a bloody hole through one shoulder, writhed in a slowly growing pool of red.

"Don't let him call his friends!" Jack blurted as the Splicer that had once been a man started to scream and struggle to get up even as he bleed out. He was unlucky enough to be sure to die doing so unlike the Chaos Knight before.

Ultimus didn't even break stride. One steel boot came down on the splicer's neck, cutting off the scream with the crunch of crushed vertebrae. The splicer convulsed once and went still, head at an odd angle.

"...squish." Jack said after a moment, blinking.

"It shut him up," Ultimus pointed out. "More of a crunch, though. A squish is what you'd get if I'd stepped on him at my normal size. Or if I'd been in truck form and he tried to embed himself into my front end."

That got him a funny look even in the semi dark. "Maybe we should just get to the Gatherer's Garden before any more show up?"

Ultimus nodded, picking up the pace and settling into a ground-eating trot. He was moving quickly enough that a normal human would have to run to keep up, hinting that he could really motor when he had to.

"Ah-" Jack twisted and looked up, "You missed the turn...oh wow." The girl trailed off as she caught sight of the ceiling, and the glowing streaks that where spread as the aurora.

Ultimus followed her gaze, backtracking to the proper turn. "Is it an elevator or an open hall to the next level down?"

"There's a stair case near the end of that-er, this hall." Jack frowned, "Uhh... on the left."

The mech nodded, heading toward the staircase. He only seemed to use a couple of the steps, more bounding down that walking down.

"What the?" A man to the right of the stairs blinked and rocked back on his heels. The seemingly normal human's eyes widened as he took in Ultimus, and the girl with yellow eyes and a gatherer's needle in his arms. With a strangled curse he flattened himself against the wall, his machine gun pointed down and went still as if he was trying to become one with the wall and not be seen.

Ultimus showed fangs in a brief warning for the human to stay put, passing him and continuing in the direction Jack had indicated. The wings of his jet form spread out from his back, covering the gap between arm and body so nothing could try to get at Jack from behind.

"Christ!" The man said from behind, "Like there aren't enough types of Big Daddies already." There was the sound of running feet, going away.

The girl giggled softly. "You do look like a Big Daddy." she said.

The redhead laughed softly. "It's the only category anyone who lives here can fit me into, since they have no other frame of reference."

"None of my memories do." Jack admitted after a moment of turning her attention inward.

"I doubt there have ever been any Cybertronians down here. Normally we're far too big to fit." Ultimus looked down a connecting tunnel.

A glowing red porthole was visible down that way for a moment before turning and darting away, a faint giggle of a Big Sister drifting to the two. "...There sure are a lot of Big Sisters around." Jack said worriedly.

"They seem to either like me, or think I'm a Big Daddy. Which, I couldn't say. But they don't seem to mean any harm," the redhead noted after a moment.

"Big Sisters are weird sometimes." Jack decided, smiling a moment at a mental image. She perked up hearing music and a recorded child's voice.

Ultimus lifted his head, tilting it slightly, trying to identify what he was hearing. Yellow optics turned in its direction.

"One of the gardens." Jack explained as she finally squirmed to be put down.

Ultimus let her down, following her down the corridor. "So that's the voice of the vending machine?"

"It's not like the other one." the girl said, bare feet padding along ahead, "It gives plasmids and tonics and those things."

"Ah." The redhead trotted after her. "Different machines for different things." He spotted something red, picking up a different kind of rivet from the floor.

"Uh-huh," Jack nodded as she turned a corner, using her ears and nose to pinpoint the Gatherer's Garden. Still examining the thing he'd just found, Ultimus followed her over to the machine, looking at it and the selection of plasmids curiously. The girl eyed the singing props before running her fingers over the display, making it scroll back to the start and the better, as well more expensive plasmids.

"I think you've got enough ADAM in this bucket to buy just about any plasmid you want." Ultimus called the bucket from subspace, setting it next to her.

"I might upgrade both of my main ones." Jack nodded looked between the bucket and the price list. Then she started to look around, going behind the Garden machine and back with a cup.

"The fire and the electricity?" Ultimus watched, keeping his sensors open for trouble.

"Incinerate and Electrobolt." Jack nodded as she took out a funnel from the side of the machine and poured some ADAM into it. "It's so much easier to get the upgrades like this then to take chances with random bodies."

"Ahh." Ultimus eyed the machine, then glanced around the chamber curiously, taking in everything in visual range. There were a few other machines, one had the blasted clown, another had a bandit on it and flashed advertisement of shotgun shells and other things. Jack seemed to be focused on what she was doing, and eyeing the display for the taken ADAM. Ultimus regarded the ammo vending machine thoughtfully, then padded toward it. He eyed it for a long moment.

Jack was poking buttons to get her first plasmid behind him, humming a little to herself.

Ultimus ran a careful scan, then hissed. Snarling, he spun, firing the hydraulics in his legs and launching himself straight up. Unsheathing the claws concealed in his fingertips, he lashed out at something lurking in the shadows. When he landed, the floor quivered from the impact. Moments later, a spider splicer, face and throat laid open to the bone, landed just behind him.

The girl yelped, startled and clutching the new syringe she had gotten to her chest and flattened herself against the Gatherer's Garden machine, "Wha...?" She eyed the dead splicer and her yellow tinted eyes blinked up at Ultimus.

"He tried to sneak up on you," the mech told her. "Eventually they'll figure out that I don't have a blind spot; they can't sneak up on me."

Jack swallowed thickly, but didn't seem surprised at what the spider splicer had been trying to do. Ultimus turned toward the ammo machine. His optics glowed brightly as he extended a hand, hacking into the machine. Air hissed from his vents in a snort; the security programs in these machines were pitiful by his standards.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked after getting the second plasmid and sitting down. She didn't know how to inject the plasmid in the arm so was planning to on her thigh.

"Just a bit of hacking," he replied, just as the machine began to disgorge all the ammo it contained. He collected all of the rivets and heavy rivets, stashing them in subspace.

"I hope the Thinker doesn't take offence." Jack said after a moment of going cross-eyed. Ultimus tilted his head at her, raising a scarlet eyebrow. She blinked slowly as the new upgraded plasmid took hold and sank into her system, "What?"

"You've mentioned the Thinker before." Ultimus turned away from the vending machine.

"It's the computer intelligence that runs Rapture." Jack said as she readied the red tube and needle. "And the one that triggers alarms, opens doors, makes sure we can breathe..."

"Oh." Ultimus blinked.

"It's in Minerva's den." Jack added, going cross-eyed again. "I don't think we can get too close to it though."

"To the Den or to the Thinker?" Ultimus walked over to her, looking at the plasmid vials she held.

"The Thinker," Jack clarified, "I'm pretty sure we can get in the Den one way or another, but I'm not going outside even if some of the Little Sisters can."

"All right." Ultimus nodded.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Queen's note: !...mwhahahaha...! Okay now that the splicer cackle is out of the way with, lol, Provenance is made up by me, as are the two characters Greavenson and Garlding. The former will be recognizable to any who know my Sonic Road saga, I'm just reusing his sliminess here for later usage in the plot. The Pack/Packer splicers are also something I came up with, half of them can't see so have developed echo location, thus the clicking.
> 
> Ultra Rodimus' note: In this chapter we discover Ultimus' protective streak. He's pretty much adopted Jack, which shocks her when she finds out.

Jack blinked up at the Autobot, tilting her head, "...there's a twig on your head." She said and giggled.

Ultimus blinked. "...twig?" He reached up, pulling the object off his helm and staring at it.

"Better then a splicer?" Jack offered as she rose to bring over the almost empty bucket back to the Autobot.

"True enough." Ultimus took the bucket, returning to it subspace.

Jack picked up her gatherer's needle and looked around, eyeing the dead splicer but changed her mind and edged away and to another passage way. "I think if we try the maintenance tunnels we shouldn't have too much trouble getting into the den."

The redhead stepped over the dead splicer, following Jack. "And fewer annoying splicers?"

"Probably." The girl glanced back, "...hope you fit..."

"You'd be amazed at how tight a space I can fit into if I have to," he replied.

Jack gave the big mech a doubtful look. "...okay." She turned her attention back to where she was going, using ADAM given memories to do so.

The Cybertronian followed, sensors and eyes alert.

A soft hum and winding sound attracted the girl's attention upwards, blinking and then frowning as she eyed one of the normally stationary cameras above. It had moved all of its three inches to focus on first her then the Autobot. "Someone is watching."

Ultimus' eyes glowed brightly as he regarded the camera. "Good thing or bad thing?"

Jack shrugged, "Depends on who's in charge here." She fiddled with the gatherer's needle as she slowed down for a few moments as she accessed those memories she'd been using to guide them, "The lights were on last time I was here."

The mech looked into the dimly-lit passages ahead, again activating the light he'd mounted on his helm. The bright beam swept the shadows, casting dangling wires and broken beams into stark relief.

Jack lifted a hand, wincing and blinking rapidly to adjust to the light, "ADAM," She said looking to the right and scanning around for the corpse but not seeing it. She stopped for a moment it took for Ultimus to come even and reached out to try and grasp one of his fingers, tried to.

The mech moved closer, close enough for the heat radiating through his armor seams to be easily felt. Air hissed from his neck vents as he scanned for the source. "There." He pointed in the direction of the ADAM-rich carcass.

The girl looked and nodded, taking note of it as she continued, "There's the one of the main passageways to the Den." She pointed out through the next window. Ultimus followed her pointing finger, scanning the indicated passageway. He rumbled softly, waiting to see what Jack was going to do. "It looks like it's still rigged." The girl pressed her face against the window, "So off to the service tunnels if you can't go outside?"

"I'm waterproof, more or less," he replied. "My systems seal against water intrusion."

"What about the pressure?" Jack asked as she started walking again, this time heading for an airlock on the way.

"I'm more worried about you. I was built to take extreme heat, cold, pressure, and vacuum, just keep right on coming. My internal supports are made of an alloy no human has ever seen the likes of. Should I change back to my real size, the pressure would be even less of a problem." He smiled slightly. "I'm actually normally a lot bigger than this."

"I could live for a bit," Jack shuddered, "but I don't have as much ADAM in my body like other Little Sisters, or even the Big Sisters."

Ultimus pondered for a moment, then looked out to judge the distance. "At my true size the crossing would be accomplished much quicker. Fewer strides, covering more distance."

"...Maybe." Jack wasn't too sure if she wanted to do that, "but I could also use the vents..." she was walking up to a door and ran right into it as it didn't open. "Hey!"

Ultimus trotted over to the door. "Is it jammed or locked? Or was the power to it just disrupted?"

"Might be the power," Jack said as she rubbed her nose, "Half of it seems to be out." she took a step back to look up to see if that little light above the powered door was on at all.

The redhead placed a palm against the door, pushing against it lightly. He scanned for any power getting to the systems that operated the door.

"Ultimus?" Jack reached over to pat his leg, her eyes on another mounted monitoring camera that was aimed at the airlock.

The Cybertronian's head whipped around, resulting in a faint protesting whine from the hydraulics in his neck. He bared fangs at the camera, allowing a warning rumble to emerge from somewhere in his chest.

~Heeeeeeeeeeey Big Guy!~ Ice Queen's voice came from the radio, making Jack jump. ~There?~

"Icy." Ultimus narrowed his optics. "You got into the camera systems?"

~What? No I'm in a bathysphere.~ The other human formed Cybertronian said, ~I was just wondering, where did you say you were off to?~

"Minerva's Den." Ultimus lifted a scarlet eyebrow. "And what are you doing in a bathysphere?"

~Going to annoy Lamb at the Fort and try to take over the city,~ It wasn't clear if she was joking or not saying that, ~But how are you getting to the Den...? There's a few people and places you may want to avoid.~

"That's what we're figuring out now. I'm perfectly capable of walking from here to there... It's my companion I'm more concerned about," was the response.

~Yeeeaaahh, not a lot of humans live long out there.~ Ice Queen was nodding on the other end, ~Kids can duck into those vents though. Just try not to attract the attention of Garlding or Greavenson kay?~

Jack flinched as she heard the second name, getting closer to the Autobot's leg.

Ultimus' talons unsheathed, his hands curling on air to illustrate what would happen to any idiot stupid enough to cross him. "They have more to worry about from me."

~They're kinda needed in the timeline, as big of a slaggers they are.~ Ice Queen pointed out.

"If you have a list of who I should avoid killing, then you'd better send me the file. But I make no certain guarantees. Some of them may get slightly mauled if they get in the way." The redhead's voice was as hard as his own armor.

~Kinda thought so, since you're not here for fun.~ There was a pause, ~Slaggit I'm human...uh, Big Daddies, gatherers of any age if you can help it, Lamb's needed and some others.~

"Compile a list of names and faces, if you can, then send it to my internal comm. You already know my frequency. Since I'm pretty ignorant as to which name goes with which face, best to include images where possible."

~I can as soon as I find an air lock,~ Ice Queen sighed.

Jack was frowning and looked up at Ultimus in confusion. "Who is this?"

"Icy is a traveler, like me, though of a different race. I've come across her quite a few times, on my own world and on others. She's well aware of who and what I am, and what I can do. She also tends to be a walking buffet if she crosses my path when my fuel supply is running low." He snorted. "A sort of friend of mine, though mostly she is pseudo-neutral."

~I am not a neutral!~ Ice Queen's voice said, paused and then, ~Ah... Hey shrimp, don't get stepped on, I see the Fort.~

"I'm not a shrimp." Jack grumbled, even if it was true.

Ultimus snorted. "Depends on the situation. And your proximity to my Prime." He shifted closer to Jack. "You've crossed my path enough to know how I get when there's someone I'm protecting. If anything happens to her, there will be hell to pay."

~Self preservation.~ Ice Queen muttered something about being normal in her professions. ~Kid, be thankful.~

Jack tilted her head, "Okay." she said as the Unicronian seemed to leave, she looked up at Ultimus, blinking and giving a small smile. "To the power relays?"

The redhead nodded, glowering once more at the camera before presenting his back to it.

The girl had already started walking and turned around, "Wrong way Ulti." She grinned, turning back and promptly screamed and fell back at seeing the reaching splicer. The mutated woman screeched and vanished in a cloud of what looked like misty blood, not exactly the same thing the Big Sisters used.

Ultimus snarled, baring fangs at the splicer, claws out and ready. He paused as the splicer vanished, lifting his head slightly, scanners sweeping over everything in their range.

"Houdini Splicer!" Jack yelped and scrambled back to glomp the Autobot's leg, wishing she had her mask back- and then didn't as she remembered what she used it for.

The big redhead scooped her up, holding her securely with one arm, wings unfolding to cover the join of arm and body. He lived around a teleporter, so he was fairly used to the ability. Pulling out the rivet gun, he fine-tuned his sensors for the telltale hints of rematerialization.

The girl started twisting in Ultimus' grip, looking around at the walls and up, "I don't think we were in its 'territory.' No markings."

"These houdini splicers have territories?" Ultimus blinked. "Are they humanoids or are they animals that happen to walk on two legs?"

Jack scrunched up her face, "Both..." She said pointing to the way they needed to go.

"I'll keep that in mind." Ultimus tucked her securely into his chest, trotting down the indicated corridor. He kept his sensors alert for any signs of the splicer's return.

"Stairs," Jack said, "Power relays should be in the sub levels, generally the same for every building."

The Cybertronian took the stairs three at a time without breaking stride, moving at a pace that most people would have to run to keep up with. "How many levels does Rapture have?"

"Depends on where you're at." Jack said, drawing on ADAM given memories again, "You have the open water level, basically the tops floors of the buildings. Mid-way, ground levels and then the sublevels that are underground... is that what you mean?"

"More or less. And there'd be more levels in the tall buildings... more floors." Yellow eyes glowed as he eyed the shadows around them, checking for danger.

"...Why is there light down here and not up there?" Jack asked as she realized there was more than the light that was coming from the mech.

"Maybe there's nothing wrong with the power system itself... Perhaps it's just not getting up to the upper levels. Broken wiring, maybe." Ultimus slowed his pace a bit, stepping almost silently,

The girl turned her head, sniffing and frowning as she looked around once more, "It's...clean down here." She paused at hearing quick footsteps echoing near.

"Clean? As in lack of leaking water and sea plants sneaking in, or clean as in lab-sterile?" Ultimus' turned his head, tracking on the sound.

"As in no mold, water puddles, blood," She took a deeper breath, "...Or dead bodies down here."

"That's not the best thing, I'm assuming." Ultimus' boots barely made a sound on the floor as he paced forward, despite being a metallic life-form.

"It means someone's taking care of the place... down here at least."

A soft laugh came at Jack's words, the footsteps picked up into a run and then stopped. Muffled or a teleport. Then slowly another set of feet were heard. Whoever it was, was following Ultimus but at a distance. The mech growled, his wings twitching into a threat-posture. His body language clearly announced that whoever got too close was going to regret it. But they didn't, once someone small-ish ran behind Ultimus, not too close though.

"Sounds like kids... turn left."

Ultimus blinked toward the sound, turning down the left-hand path. He was still watching the shadows warily. Someone darted ahead of them, older then Jack but still young. Pale skin that had never seen daylight but no 'helping' slug to keep him relatively healthy; there was a glimpse of bony limbs, sightless eyes and too long fingers.

Jack tensed, "I think I know what's down here..."

The redhead paused, looking at her. "What?"

"Pack splicers." She said slowly, trying to see behind them, "That's why there's no bodies... a packer is what happens when someone makes, or a kid has to take ADAM without one of," She put a hand on her belly, meaning the slug in her stomach without admitting aloud that she had one.

"So... very bad things." Jet wings stiffened, spreading to their fullest extent.

"If they think you're going to hurt them." Jack said, trying not to but swallowed, having seen a Pack tear apart a splicer that was two or three times the size of any one member.

"As long as they leave us alone, I'll leave them alone." He shifted his grip on her just slightly.

"Hope their leader is friendly?" Jack offered, "The door to the power relays should be marked on one of these doors."

A red-headed girl, teenager, peeked around a corner ahead, trying and failing not to be seen. Vivid green eyes watching as another smaller child peeked as well below, this one with blank white eyes. Ultimus turned his head toward the teenager, giving her a penetrating "see-through-you" type of look but not approaching her. It was a pointed hint that he was watching everything around him.

An odd sound came from the small 'packer,' almost like the clicking of sonar before both vanished back. That clicking came from the side and behind as well. Jack was clinging to the Autobot, well aware of how much ADAM she had in her stomach, though she never heard of pack splicers attacking Little Sisters it was still an ingrained fear.

"Back away." An old male voice said over the PA, "Let them through."

The big Cybertronian kept his body language defensive but not overly aggressive as he paced past the lurkers, looking toward the PA and baring a single fang slightly. Yellow eyes scanned the markings on the doors, looking for the one he wanted.

"Take the third to your right." The voice said again.

"I think that's the leader of the pack." Jack said in a tiny voice, not sure if whoever could hear as well.

Ultimus filed that away for future reference, making his way toward the indicated door. This time each step fell with the distinct sound of metal striking metal; a somewhat less subtle hint that getting in his way was not recommended. "Are they usually reasonable at all?" he murmured back.

"Packers or the leader?" Jack asked, glancing up.

"Either." Ultimus eyed the markings on the door, stepping toward it.

"Packers hate the adult splicers, but I've seen some following lone Big Daddies," Jack said slowly, "most times unless they're home and the non ADAM users aren't threatened they let people be. Unless the leader gets spliced off his or her rocker..."

"So you can occasionally walk right past them, as long as you don't appear threatening and the leader is at least partially sane," the mech summed up.

Jack paused and then nodded, "Yeah. Big Sisters constantly go through the packs for new gatherers, though." She herself hadn't seen it, but had seen the result of a roaming pack that had just been raided with all the youngest members taken.

"So the Big Sisters or whoever they answer to see the packs as fodder to replace harvesters who grow up or are killed by splicers." Ultimus made a rumbling sound at that.

"And the surface." Jack said as she nodded again, and at hearing more feet coming closer, "Think we should meet who ever now..."

The big redhead glanced in that direction as he walked through the door for the power relay room.

He walked into a pre-room, where workers would put on safety gear before going off to wherever. The far side of the room was over half window to a control room. But it was the man in a rocking chair in the gear-up room, facing the door that seemed to take attention. He was black skinned, though gray in more than hair, with dark intelligent eyes. There were several young children scattered in the room as well, most of them sleeping in beds that had been dragged in and pushed to one side.

Ultimus paused, tilting his head as he inspected the room. "I take it this is the pack den."

"One way of putting it." The man said nodded, and then focused beyond the Autobot's legs, "Yo! Stay out for now." The long fingered hand that had been reaching to touch Ultimus' leg was yanked back and the owner vanished, the door closing after. "Kids... Take a seat if you want, whatever you are."

"I think I'll stand." Yellow eyes narrowed. "So. Someone who doesn't automatically assume I'm a Big Daddy."

"Big Daddies can't talk." The man said, glancing down at the ornate cane across his lap, rocking slightly but not getting up. He didn't even look like he could get up on his own anymore. "And they do have flesh under all that metal and suit." His dark eyes looked the Autobot up and down in the warmer light of this room, focusing on Jack for a moment.

"I assure you I am fully metallic. I am a sentient robotic life-form, and I am not even from this planet." He revealed fangs in a brief, toothy grin. "In my natural form I'm big enough that I could step on you and never notice." The grin turned briefly to a snarl as he saw the man's gaze rest on Jack, and he held her a bit closer.

"Don't want the girly," The man said with a snort, "Sisters are more useful alive, make more ADAM."

"And coming too close to this one will ignite something you really don't want to be caught in the crosshairs of." Ultimus' deep bass voice dropped to a warning rumble.

"I'm half dead anyways..." The man muttered, then a bit louder, "We saw you trying to go to the Den...bad idea."

"And why is that a bad idea?" Ultimus inquired.

"Reed," The man said, "He controls the Thinker, paranoid f-john." he cut himself off looking at the sleeping kids, "Power's out to all of section anyways, unless you can talk Thinker into letting you in."

Ultimus tilted his head, pondering that. "Who is 'Reed'?"

Garlding crossed his arms over his middle and sighed, "A nutter, but a smart nutter who's controlling the Thinker and locked down the den. As much as someone can that is, but unless the Thinker approves you, you can't get in the Den."

"As my commander once said, 'I defy a mere human to out-hack a sentient computer'." Ultimus' lip curled ever so slightly.

The man gave a snort, "A thinking mind is always better then a hunk of something. But the Thinker is alive, or so I'm told."

A scarlet eyebrow lifted. "But somehow I doubt it has anywhere near my experience."

"I guess the only way for sure is to have a chat then." The old man said, he paused to eye the beds, making sure the kids were asleep.

Ultimus' eyebrow rose higher. "Oh?"

"If you can talk to the Think before trying to hack it, and maybe stop the air pumps, it might let you in the Den." Garlding said, "If you have your tin heart set on going there."

The Cybertronian lifted his chin, rumbling something in a language that didn't sound human at all before answering. "I am."

"Then I think we can make a deal." The elderly man nodded, half to himself.

Ultimus looked at the human, eyes neutral, then nodded. Tilting his head slightly, he pinged Ice Queen, asking if this Reed was on the "don't kill" list. There was a ping back almost at once, meaning she had gotten into her robot form, or a hybrid-ish state with her coms, ~yep, he's on the list, Sigma gets the first crack.~

~Just checking. I won't kill him, but if he gets slightly mauled, it's not my fault,~ the redhead sent back. His optics refocused, and he returned his attention to the dark-skinned human. "So. How, exactly, do I speak with the Thinker."

"Though a control room terminal in a locked down room." Garlding smiled, "With a Genetic key code if the power was completely on."

Yellow optics narrowed slightly. "A genetic key code."

"All key points of Rapture need one." Jack said softly, peeking out to see the old man give a quick sharp nod of agreement

Ultimus made a humming sound, pondering that. "Considering I have no carbon-based genetic code in this form, and in my human form my genetics are unlike anything found on Earth, that might be a tad awkward."

"I could do it for you," Garlding said slowly, "But since I don't have much of a kind heart outside of my kids, I'll need something in exchange."

Yellow eyes narrowed to slits, glowing like molten sulfur. "Oh?"

"ADAM." The man used his cane to point to Jack.

The girl who had been staring up at the mech's face suddenly tensed. Ultimus bared fangs, tucking the girl closer to his side. "Get too close and I'll remove your arm the hard way."

"You don't have to harvest to get ADAM." The man said leaning back in his rocking chair, "My kids are either too young or getting too old to get into the vents, but you got yourself a living factory in your arms there."

The Cybertronian's response was in his own language again, very clearly spoken if completely unintelligible. But even if the words couldn't be understood, his tone made what he was saying quite clear.

Curses were curses no matter which planet you were from.

Garlding laughed after a few moments when he realized this, "Fact of Rapture, Little Sisters are basically living factories of ADAM, that's why they were made to start with. And Rapture near runs on the stuff now."

"I am not human. I have no need of ADAM; I do not seek the stuff, not does it have any meaning to me," was the clipped response.

"But we do," Garlding leaned forward and moved as if to rap his cane on the floor but stopped in time, "The pack does to survive, thankfully not all of the kids need it to survive but enough that we have a devil of a time and a half getting the blasted stuff."

Ultimus rumbled warningly. "One wrong move and they'll need a shovel to scrape what's left of you off the floor, low ceilings be damned."

"Papa wants you to get the ADAM, not harvest," A small voice said from under the blankets to the side.

"Not to mention I'm too old to even think it," Garlding snorted, "Calm down son."

Yellow eyes fixed on him with the intensity of a laser beam. "The warning still stands. I've mentioned this to Jack a couple of times; this is not my true form. My real shape, yes, but nowhere near my true size. Tangling with me is not recommended."

"Like I could order the Pack to." Garlding knew it wouldn't work unless this stranger harmed any of the children.

"Unless a pack of children could overpower a creature who stands taller than a six-storey building, sixty feet tall from ground to helm, and weighing over thirty tons, I still would not recommend it," Ultimus responded flatly.

"I don't think so." Jack said, still in a quieter voice than normal.

Garlding rolled his eyes, sighing. "Stop blustering. Back on topic, you get or get her to make us enough ADAM and I'll open the way for you to talk to the Thinker."

"I will not force her," Ultimus rumbled. He flashed fangs in a quick, icy grin. "You don't believe me. I'd be happy to prove it, but I'd ruin the real estate in the process. I'm tall even for my own species."

"I can do it... or we can try the locks..." She added in a barely audible voice.

Ultimus looked at her, his gaze softening. "I won't force you. It's your choice."

"It's not that hard." Jack admitted, "Strange but not hard really."

The redhead dipped his head slightly. "There's still some left in the bucket, that you didn't use at the machine. And that corpse isn't too far away if you need it."

"It might be enough," The girl said after a moment, then remembered that if it wasn't, it would be just as easy to use that ADAM to make more but it'd take just as much time.

Ultimus lifted his free hand, claws still pointedly extended, and called the bucket from subspace. It was suddenly dangling from his hand, the handle looped over his fingers. Jack wasn't the only one to stare, though she seen him manipulate subspace before it was still baffling. Ultimus put the bucket down, raising one leg to shove it toward the older human.

After a long moment, Garlding shook himself and used his cane to pull the bucket closer, and tilting it a bit to eye what was inside. He was estimating how much it was, who needed the blasted stuff... "Not enough."

Yellow eyes narrowed briefly, and Ultimus made a rumbling sound low in his chest. He tilted an eyebrow at Jack, silently asking if he should go retrieve the ADAM-laden corpse.

"I can't make it super fast..." She said looking down at her hands.

"Don't expect it to be." Garlding waved a hand at the door, "Come back in a day, should give her time to cook it, so to say."

The Cybertronian snarled at him, snapping something extremely rude in Cybertronian. It had no exact translation into English, but it was rude enough that any other Cybertronian would've tried to kill the redhead over it.

"Unless you'd like the kid to rush it and maybe brake something in her?" Garlding tilted his head, his good eye narrowed for a moment but he sank back in his rocking chair, looking very much older then he felt. "Understand son, I'm doing this to save my grandbabies and the other kids that were left behind."

"I dislike the thought of treating anyone like an inanimate object, or using anyone like a machine. I saw quite enough of that when my own kind were enslaved, nearly a hundred million years ago now." Ultimus' voice had dropped to the lowest part of its range, as much felt as heard. "She is not a thing. She is a person. Do not forget that."

"Just as my kids are still human." The old man huffed, but nodded, planting his cane and used both hands on to tilt himself back to getting a fuller look at the mech.

Yellow eyes pinned the elderly human with an intense stare. "To you they are family. Is it so hard to figure out that I feel the same way for her? She's mine, and if anyone tries to hurt her there will be hell to pay."

"Yours?" Jack squeaked the word out in a tiny voice. For now too shocked at this claim that she wouldn't have noticed if the Autobot left.

The redhead tilted his head, lifting an eyebrow. Carefully pulling back his claws, he touched her arm gently. "Does that bother you?"

"...I don't know?" Jack offered hesitantly, and it was the truth she didn't know how to react to that. The girl was still getting used to the idea of being safe and protected.

Ultimus cast Garlding one last intense look, then turned and walked out of the room, back the way they'd come. Going up the stairs was even faster than going down; the redhead cleared a good half-dozen steps at the least with one bound.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ultra Rodimus' note: In this we see a bit more of the relationship developing between Jack and Ultimus. His protective streak is kicking in full-force.
> 
> Art of Ultimus' mech form can be found at rinpin dot deviantart dot com/ gallery/ 37470532#/ d486xes

The girl in Ultimus' grip clung in response to the fast movement. Ducking her head and hiding against the warm metal until he slowed down again. The Cybertronian only slowed to a walk once he was off the stairs, pausing to survey the area. He could faintly smell the ADAM-laden corpse, but he wasn't going to pressure Jack into anything, no matter what Garlding thought.

Jack peeked out over the side of the mech's arm, looking around and blinking as she got her bearings again, shifting to try and look behind. To see if any Packers followed but she didn't hear anything of their clicking but what came from Ultimus. She turned again to look up at his optics

Ultimus' optics glowed a soft topaz as he looked down at her. He touched her cheek gently, then looked around, scanning the area. "This section is... offices? Or apartments?"

"Ahh... the upper offices." Jack said after a moment, still clinging, "The apartments start next floor up."

The redhead looked up, then padded up the stairs, moving into the corridor. His eyes glowed brighter as he scanned each room, checking for their structural integrity as well as a working water supply. He didn't want to risk anyone or anything sneaking up on them. Finding one that met his criteria, he moved toward it. Jack didn't say anything, only tensing as the Autobot moved to the room, her eyes wide. Her grip tightened a bit as she looked at the closed door.

"...Is it locked?" She asked, tone a bit odd.

Ultimus paused, checking the door. "No, it's open... There's no sign of anyone, live or otherwise, in there." He looked at her, then at the door, then back to her, taking a cautious step back.

"It was locked before." Jack said softly, still looking at the door.

The redhead's eyes flared. "I'm not reading anything or anyone inside, and no signs of current occupation."

"Okay." Jack nodded, looking at the names above the top of the door frame. Thomson and Mary were welded onto the door frame in larger letters, while the names Jake and Jack were in smaller more 'looser' letter to represent to two children of the family. The girl sort of snuggled more against Ultimus as she wandered if she really wanted to go back into this place that had been her home a long time ago.

Ultimus looked at her, his eyes expressing concern. He followed her gaze, looking at the names as well. It took a moment for them to click. "Oh..."

"Home," Jack said and looked down at her hands. She squirmed to be put down then.

Slowly, the mech lowered her to the floor. His shoulders slumped slightly, the armor plates visibly drooping, and the glow of his optics dimmed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Jack glanced up at him, looking to the four names over the door again. She moved to the door and reached up to turn the knob, hesitating just a moment before pushing the thing open.

Slowly, the big mech followed, drawing in a deep breath, taking in the scents. He did not smell death or decay; the feeling he got was of a place that had been evacuated. Jack didn't go too far in, hovering near the door until the mech was in. She reached up the grasp his hand to get his attention and pointed to the side at a heavy book case. Ultimus looked at her, then toward the bookcase. Slowly, he advanced toward it.

"If the lock's broken that should keep the door closed." Jack reasoned.

The mech nodded his understanding. Walking around the bookcase, he leaned his weight against it and pushed. Even with his strength it took a minute to get the heavy structure across the door. Ultimus eyed it for a moment and then looked around, air hissing from his vents as he expelled it, then drew in another breath.

Jack was also looking around, walking into the main living space and peeked into first kitchen and then bathroom before stopping at a closed bedroom door. The girl didn't go in, but still peeked. After a minute she trailed back to the kitchen to find there were still canned foods.

Ultimus watched, trailing after her. "From the look of things, they left quickly... I don't detect anything to suggest anyone was seriously hurt here." His voice was soft, barely above a rumble. Pulling off his helm, he set it on a table, watching Jack.

"They probably left for a safer place in the city." Jack said, looking at her reflection in the glass of the oven. "I guess after we were taken..."

The redhead's audio plate twitched. "'We'?"

"Me and my little brother." Jack shrugged, "I haven't seen him since we were taken from here." That was years ago and there wasn't many Little Brothers in any of the sections of Rapture she had been in.

Ultimus was silent for a long moment, not sure what to say. He himself had no relatives or siblings. After a long moment of silence, he shook himself slightly and decided to get back to his human form. The change was quick and mostly silent, though there were some odd pops from his spine. "Primus on a dipstick, that feels weird," he muttered to himself.

"What?" Jack looked up from trying to open a can without a can opener, she blinked and stared for a moment.

Ultimus' skin was a tanned bronze, his hair still fiery red. The eyes that looked back at her had vivid yellow irises, the pupils black and slitted, like those of a cat. He was still huge, and his ears were visibly inhuman, coming straight out to a point. One was pierced, bearing a glittering ruby stud. Peeling off armor gauntlets, he placed them next to his helm, one corner of his mouth quirking into a tiny smile. "I did say I had a human form. Or human-ish, at least."

"Uh-huh." Jack 'said' ever so cleverly. Still taking in this new development she stood and skirting around Ultimus, to see him at a different angle before slowly coming closer.

The human mech stayed where he was, letting her inspect him while he peeled off his shoulder guards, sighing as he unclasped the armored chestplate, adding it to the pile. Under the armor was a skin-tight tunic of some material resembling leather, to keep the armor from abrading his skin. Getting that off required some careful peeling. Tossing it on top of the armor, Ultimus stretched, letting out another sigh, then undid his ponytail and scratched his scalp vigorously.

"You're weird." Jack declared after absorbing what all had happened with Ultimus. She poked his right leg.

The redhead grinned, showing even white teeth and his ever-present fangs. "You think I'm weird, you should see my commander."

"I think you said that before." the girl said as she poked around again, wondering what was so different about the apartment, not sure how long her parents had lived here after she and her little brother was taken. Jack paused to look behind her and then over at the door, and then at her feet. Little, now faint footprints were here and there, but it pointed out the place, though dusty was still clean.

"You need a plasmid to throw lightning... He has that power naturally." Ultimus removed one last bit of armor, the thick belt holding the kilt-like arrangement of metal plates that covered his upper legs, then leaned against the edge of the table and watched her.

"But I'm human." Jack pointed out looking up from poking a large blood stain on her dress, "And you're not. Or your... boss."

"True enough. I might look human, but appearances are quite deceiving." Yellow eyes scanned over the rooms, and then he moved toward the sink, checking to make sure there was hot water.

The girl had flopped down on the tile of the kitchen again, sorting some of her cans before remembering she didn't have a can opener still. "Aw."

Ultimus paused before he pulled a sharp-looking knife out of thin air and crouching to pick up a can. The razored tip pushed through the thin metal of the can after a moment of resistance. Carefully, the big redhead cut around the edges, peeling the lid off the can before handing it to her. Jack made a happy squeal of joy as she looked in to see what the unmarked can was, not hesitating to drink the peach juice before fumbling to get one of the fruit halves.

A bit of rummaging through the drawers produced a relatively clean fork, which Ultimus offered Jack, smiling. "This would be helpful for catching slippery fruit slices."

She all but stabbed the peach half as if expecting it to swim away, "Thank you," she said, or tried to as she was eating her 'caught' prize. While attempting to stuff a peach half in one's mouth when talking wasn't the best way to form clear and understandable words.

Ultimus smiled as he sat back, watching, then he looked at the other cans. He began making small cuts, sniffing at the contents to determine what each can contained.

When Jack had finished her peaches, she started to grab the cans and sniff as well. She scooted closer offering a larger can of beef stew. "Please?"

The redhead accepted the can, carefully cutting the lid off for her.

"Why are you human...ish?" Jack ask as she ate, still acting like she didn't expect to eat again.

"I was exposed to a powerful energy source on another world, which altered the structure of my body in a way that allowed me to change form," Ultimus answered. "It took quite a while to get used to. Now I can change entirely at will."

"I don't think I want to change into anything." Jack said after thinking about that. She poked at her can and took another bite, wondering why she was feeling full already.

"Change is normal to my people," was the response. "Even in our fully robotic forms we can change; you've seen my truck and wolf forms. I can also turn into a plane, and I can even fly down the corridors and across the halls of Rapture, if I chose."

Jack looked up at him with an interesting look, "I don't think that would be a good idea." She said putting the can down.

"It's good for clearing large distances as quickly as possible," he replied, scooping a piece of beef from the can and tasting it.

Jack flopped down onto her back, trying to get the last bits of peach juice out of the first can, "I guess, teleports work too."

"Titanus is the teleporter, not me," Ultimus replied. "That's a rare skill among my people."

"Big Sisters and Brothers do it all the time." Jack said, examining the can before letting it fall to the side.

"Plasmids again," he pointed out. "There are no plasmids where I come from. My commander can zap anything within a twenty-foot range when he's pissed off, Titanus can teleport between star systems, Soundwave is a natural telepath... Those are natural abilities."

"Huh..." Jack turned so she was looking upside-down at Ultimus, "...so, I can make the ADAM the guy wants."

The redhead tilted his head. "Would you need that ADAM-filled corpse we passed before? It's not that far away; I can bring it back."

The girl made a face, paused and then, "In the hall?" She really didn't want to bring any more of splicers then what was stained on her cloths into this apartment.

Ultimus nodded. Rising to his feet, he quickly pulled on his tunic and armor, shifting back to mech form. "I'll bring it to the corridor, or would you prefer one of the other empty apartments?"

"The hall's okay," Jack shrugged as the rolled over and walked over to the gather's needle.

Ultimus pulled out the rivet gun, making sure it was loaded. Then he walked over to the door, pushing the bookcase out of the way and poking his head out to check for any lurkers. Jack stayed behind him, staying close so that she followed him out. The girl did not want to stay by herself now that she had a protector. The big mech scanned the area carefully, moving toward the ADAM corpse. While there was nothing registering on his scanners, he knew the splicers were out there.

Jack was looking up, so intently that she ran right into Ultimus' leg when he slowed down, "ACK!" She jumped and stumbled. Yellow optics turned to her, then the mech gently picked her up, tucking her into his side. His jet wings unfolded, providing a better defense against anything sneaking up from behind. Jack shifted to grab hold with one hand and leaned over the Autobot's arm to eye the corpse.

"...ew." She declared as she took in that it had been sitting in water and had... bloated a bit. To put it nicely.

"They look worse when they've stewed a bit longer," Ultimus rumbled. "The really nasty ones are the ones that disintegrate if you even look at them funny." He grabbed the corpse by a relatively intact limb, dragging it to a more defensible location, where he could stand between Jack and the inevitable splicers without worrying about any sneaking up behind him.

"Smells funny," Jack wrinkled her nose, eyes scanning the body carefully, searching for the ADAM rich part.

"Just hold your breath when you poke the needle in. Or would you rather I pop it open first? Decomp gases are extremely foul." Ultimus pulled the dagger out of subspace again.

"Ah... you first." Jack picked, at the same time wiggling to be put down again so not to be in 'range' just in case.

Ultimus nodded, placing her down, then reaching over and delivering one precise stab to the gut. Foul-smelling, putrid air rushed out, spattering an oozing liquid over the corpse. The swollen belly of the corpse deflated quickly, though the stink lingered.

"Ew!" Jack squeaked again, waving the needle as if that would help fan the smell away. The same alteration that made gathers' have such keen sense of smell to find the right dead bodies... it was a bit of a disaster when one didn't have the mental conditioning to block out the 'badness' of some smells.

"It gets a lot worse, believe me." Ultimus prodded the stab with the tip of the knife, making sure all the gases had escaped.

"I know," Jack said, tone going slightly flat and distant. She did live in Rapture and had seen things in her young age that most of the surface world would shut down after seeing just some of it.

Especially what was seen in Fort Frolic.

Ultimus put the knife away, reaching over to very gently rub her back. His yellow eyes showed concern as the girl ducked her head, breathing heavily for a moment and then seemed to shift a little, gaze going a little blank as she in a way protected herself mentally as she moved to the corpse. The redhead rumbled softly, very gently touching her cheek. Then he straightened, retrieving his rivet gun and going into sentry mode.

Jack glanced over at him for a second as she knelt down. Looking around out of habit she eyed the gray body in front of her again before stabbing the gather's needle in and moving it to the right position. If anything but ADAM and red blood came into the bottle she was abandoning this thing.

Ultimus positioned himself right in front of the corner, rivet gun in one hand and sword in the other. He could detect the incoming splicers just at the edge of his sensor range. Baring fangs, he let a low growl start to build, slowly becoming more audible.

The girl behind him was working as fast as she could, which wasn't too fast as one had to be careful just get the ADAM rich blood. She could smell the splicers before hearing them, not being nearly as single minded as a normal Little Sister. "Come on, come on..." Jack muttered.

Ultimus lifted his gun, the growl becoming a very audible snarl, then a roar that just dared any stupid splicer to get too close. At first there was no rushing battle field, like that was seen with that Big Sister and the horde before. By the sounds of it there wasn't nearly as many as then too, but enough to be a sizable pack. Muttering were heard before tink-ing as a spider splicer took the walls and then into them.

That last one made Jack flinch, she had more than one bad experience with that deadly kind of Splicer.

The biggest mistake of the splicers was assuming that the Cybertronian had a blind spot, somewhere they could sneak in and not be seen. Ultimus' sensors were deployed in all directions, allowing him to keep track of the spider splicer and deliver a vicious stab right through the walls.

Jack flinched again as hearing the splicer start to scream and gargle. And that seemed to be a trigger to have the other Splicers poor in, no longer hanging back. Ultimus pulled the sword back, adjusted his aim, and delivered another wicked stab, this time silencing the screaming. Baring fangs, he opened fire on the oncoming splicers, shouting at them in Cybertronian, his tone distinctly mocking.

The girl behind him was showing a great deal of trust in the Autobot for not just bolting and finding a place to hide. That being her developed response to a large number of splicers. As it was she was trembling as she filled the bottle, trying not to glance back as she heard what was once a woman's voice screech.

The big redhead did not stray more than a few feet away, occasionally turning to drive his sword through the walls as he detected splicers trying to be sneaky. When they got too close to shoot at effectively, he used his sword to keep them back.

As fast as it happened it seemed to be all over, at least with the splicers, and Jack hesitantly stood. Looking around and swallowing, "Is it over?"

Ultimus disposed of the last splicer, a spider splicer with a rivet hole through one leg, by simply lifting one foot and bringing it back down with the force of a pile-driver. The splicer twitched once and went still. "They're gone."

Jack came closer until she was almost between the large metal legs, she peered around him and holding onto the mech's knee she reached out to poke an arm with a tow. The redhead looked down at her, scanning for any stragglers. There were no longer any live splicers in his sensor range. After a moment he moved his foot from the ruin of the spider splicer's head, being careful of Jack.

She seemed to have no problems avoiding being stepped on from her crouched position, maneuvering out of the way. Jack warily stood, unscrewing the lid, she made a face before starting to drink.

Ultimus watched, making a soft rumbling sound. It had taken him a while to get used to his particular diet, but it had been adapt or die at the time. Jack was scrunching up her face as she downed the ADAM rich blood, not nearly as much as was in the body back there but the dose was enough... well, considering the size of a child's stomach it was enough.

The Cybertronian placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, his yellow optics glowing softly. Then he pulled some bits of fabric out of subspace and began cleaning the blood off his foot, not wanting to track it everywhere.

"Ew," Jack gasped once done, using her word of the day once more. She looked around at the bodies and made a face again before walking over to poking another still warm body with the needle.

"Is it any body that can be harvested for ADAM, or is it only certain bodies?" Ultimus asked curiously, tossing the cloth scraps aside.

"Almost everyone has ADAM, some stronger than others." Jack said as she started to prod questioningly at pockets. "They have it."

Ultimus walked over to watch, examining the bodies.

The girl held up something, a few shot-gun shells, to the mech, "Exploding buck."

"Exploding buck?" Ultimus accepted it, inspecting it, then subspaced it. "I still have yet to figure out what this is..." He held out the glowing orange thing he'd found before.

"Oh, that." Jack motioned for him to bring it closer. Her small hand working out one of the rivets, "I'll show you." She said, paused and eyed the other bodies, stopping to poke a few other pockets and coming up with some money. She started walking, looking at the wall for a crack or gap.

Curious, Ultimus trailed her, putting his sword and the rivet gun into subspace for the time being.

The girl found what she was looking for, and wedged in the rivet into a crack in the plaster of the hall outside of her family's old apartment. She paused and then whacked the orange, flat end. A red light sprang out, half blinding the girl but no hurting her. Jack glanced back and grinned, "Trap!"

"It's a trap, huh?" Ultimus eyed it thoughtfully.

"Yeah, someone not in the codes like Gathers and Protectors are, they get a pfft!" She made a 'exploding' motion wing one hand. Jack walked in the light and back out to show she was safe.

"I'm not in the system, so I should be careful where I step," the redhead replied. "It probably wouldn't hurt me, not in this form, but explosions tend to attract attention."

"You're not human though, or splicer." Jack pointed out, "And it shouldn't trigger against metal."

"I still think I'd rather try not to set these things off. But deploying them against splicers I have no problem with."

Jack stepped forward and held up a hand, blocking the light and smiling up at Ultimus, proud of herself for 'saving' the much, much bigger Autobot. Ultimus returned the smile, stepping into the apartment, holding the door and waiting for her to join him.

She darted in, stopping suddenly and balancing as if about to fall onto her face, arms pin-wheeling. The girl hopped half way and landed on one of Ultimus' footprints from before in the entry way. "..." She looked down at her feet, the fresh blood there and then at the cream colored carpet inside.

The redhead gently picked her up. "Looks like both of us could use a wash."

"Water's mostly cold isn't it?" Jack asked looking up to the Autobot's optics.

"That's not hard to change, though," Ultimus pointed out.

The girl shrugged, she hadn't really tested the water yet anyways, and then pointed to the right, "Bathroom's there."

Ultimus carried her to the bathroom, shifting to his human form midway there. Turning on the tap, he tested the water with one hand. "There's some hot water still in the system, apparently..."

"Well, there is the thermals." Jack pointed out from her spot.

"That is true." The redhead gently set her down, removing his upper armor and tunic.

The girl started to poke around again, and then sat down as she tried to reach behind her at the cloth 'bow' wrapped around her middle.

Ultimus filled the bathtub, watching the water levels critically and keeping track of the water temperature. Tilting his head toward Jack, he silently inquired if she needed a hand getting the bow undone. The girl didn't see, not at first as she was so focused on what she was doing. But from the looks of it someone else had done the bow, quite possibly by a Big Sister.

The redhead watched, looking away only to turn off the water. "Do you need some help?" he finally asked.

"Maybe..." Jack fell over, blinked, pulled herself up and turned, looking over her shoulder with her back to the mech, "Please?"

Ultimus knelt down to be closer to her level, carefully undoing the bow. He placed it aside, out of splash range, making a note to see if he could get some of the stains out of it later. The girl reached up to very carefully undo the ribbon in her hair, the bow still lopsided but it had down its job to keep her hair out of her face. Jack looked around and stretched to put it up out of the way before coming to investigate the bathtub.

The big redhead sat beside the tub, folding long legs under him to keep them out of the way (long legs stretched out generally became tripping hazards), trailing one hand in the water. "It's warm, and I assure you it won't bite."

Jack wriggled out of the now looser dress, and the faded purple under slip wasn't really a swimsuit, but it was used as one as the girl flopped gracelessly into the water. Ultimus picked up the dress, examining the bloodstains with a critical eye. Fishing out a piece of scrap fabric, he began working on teasing out some of the mess, also keeping a close eye on Jack.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ultra Rodimus' notes: There may be art of Ulti in his splicer/Big Daddy form forthcoming; I caught a DA artist's "Week of Halloween" free commission event. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing what comes out of it.

The girl was basically acting younger than her 12 years, splashing in the water more than actually cleaning herself up, though all the activity was making the water cloudy anyways. Some poking around the cabinets on the part of the mech failed to turn up any kind of cleaners, so Ultimus turned to the 'human hygiene kit' he'd started carrying since becoming able to turn human; he was more than a bit of a clean freak, and while he often used scent to track quarry he didn't particularly like it when his own scent drowned out the prey's. Fishing out some soap, he used some on the dress's stains, placing the bar where Jack could reach it.

She blinked at it, knowing what it was and what it was used for but turned a hurt puppy look up at Ultimus. As far as she had lived in Rapture, or at least had been alone in the splicer areas, the layer [or two, or three] of... stuff on her had helped hide her from notice.

The redhead rumbled softly, amused. "Being dirty is not always a good thing. And most of the fluids down here tend to smell foul after a while." He made a somewhat triumphant sound as he succeeded in getting one persistent stain out of the dress.

"But it blends in." Jack pointed out, "And I'm clean...er...ish..."

"By Rapture standards maybe," was the calm reply. The redhead shifted, settling closer to Jack, the hand holding the soapy cloth before darting out to swipe it down her arm. Jack ducked away by reflex, and she scrunched her face at the cleaner spot. Then she smiled, ducking away again. The redhead grinned, playfully going after her and swiping at another spot, removing another layer or two of dirt. This very rapidly could dissolve into a pointless game as Jack gave a girlish squeal and splashed to the other side of the tub.

Ultimus had to laugh, his yellow eyes sparkling. It felt good just to have a little pointless fun. He feinted with the soapy cloth, and then got her other arm with it. Jack splashed at him, and then taking a deep breath she 'vanished' under the water. She may not have as much ADAM in her body to be able to 'breath' in water for short periods like the full on Gatherers, but Jack was still like any other child that had grown up in and around water. She could hold her breath for a long time.

The human Cybertronian grinned, reaching under the water and fishing around for her. His other hand, holding the soapy cloth, was poised just above the surface, ready to strike as soon as he located her.

The advantage, as least for the thin child was that the tub was comparatively large. And as Jack squirmed underneath the water- though cloudy she was still visible with that purple slip, it started to stretch to a full minute without her popping up on her own. Ultimus would have been concerned had she been any normal child from the surface, but he remembered her saying that she could live for a short period of time even outside the city. He continued to fish for her, smiling to himself.

There was only so far she could go in a tub before Jack ran smack dab into Ultimus' hand, giving a yip and flailing as she just yipped under water. The redhead tugged her to the surface; ADAM slug or not, water in the lungs was not healthy for a human. He took the opportunity to get the dirt on her upper arm and shoulder in the process. Jack of course squirmed, but a laugh bubbled up. She was having fun too, even if she was getting a scrub at the same time. Yet that didn't mean she would make it easy for Ultimus, at least for now.

Ultimus grinned. "Caught you," he teased, tapping the very tip of her nose with the soapy cloth.

"Can't hold me!" Jack exclaimed, and doing her best to get away.

Quick fingers skittered across Jack's ribs and along her side, testing to see if she was ticklish. She yelped and then dissolved into giggles, she was very ticklish apparently. The girl kicked out her legs and tried to find his larger hand with hers. The redhead chuckled, continuing to tickle. He took the opportunity to sneak in some more washing, evicting more dirt.

The girl soon was gasping for air and giving the chance would go limp form the energy lost at flailing around. Finally, Ultimus stopped tickling, letting her lean against his arm. He hummed a soft, random tune as he washed the dirt off her arms before moving down to her legs.

Jack didn't resist now, too busy poking the arm the girl was against. She had gotten used to the feel of metal and, admittedly, wasn't used to feeling living flesh near her in a non-hostile way. Ultimus' bronze skin was heavily scarred in some places, from narrow lash wounds to burn-scars, to jagged multiple gouges where some beast's claws had struck home. The muscle under it was hard and strong. After a bit, Jack put her hand over top of Ultimus', tilting her head at the size difference before she abruptly yawned.

"...sorry." She shifted as internally the slug was hard at work now, and in turn making Jack drowsy again.

"It's okay," he replied, his voice soft as Ultimus gently washed the layers of dirt off of her, getting any new debris out of her hair. Her hair was still a bit of mess, for all that Ultimus had brushed it out before. From the general looks of her, Jack had been in some... interesting places before meeting the Autobot.

It didn't take long for Ultimus to finish washing Jack. Some of the dirt had required a bit of extra effort to dislodge, but he'd been careful to be gentle about it. He took a quick moment to investigate a closet, finding some somewhat dusty but usable towels. After giving himself a quick wash, he lifted the drowsy young girl out of the water, wrapping her in a towel.

Jack jerked a bit, coming awake and automatically wrapping her own arms around the human-formed Autobot's neck, "M'tired." she stated, having to point that out in the way of any child.

The human mech rubbed her back gently, carrying her out of the bathroom. He paused for a moment, debating, then eyed the rooms and decided to settle on the bed. He peeled off the top cover to avoid the dust, laying on his side and curling around Jack protectively.

When morning came, the redhead was again the first to wake up. He'd kept an ear open all night, rousing now and again to listen for any danger. Lifting his head, he listened intently, sniffing for any foreign scents. Then he yawned, looking down at the young girl he was still curled around. Jack was half in a ball, somewhere, somehow she had either squirmed away or just found it in reach. But she had an old teddy bear and was hugging it, she was snuggled up to Ultimus as well, heat leaching.

The redhead smiled softly, settling back down and dozing. He didn't mind being used as a heat source; it wasn't the first time. Since there was no reason yet to get up, he remained where he was, letting Jack sleep as long as she wanted.

Jack would have wanted to sleep another ten hours... however, there was the fact that she had an ADAM slug in her stomach that had been making the stuff all night... So the girl started to restlessly move and slowly shift to lift her head. Ultimus had made sure to have a bucket handy, remembering the previous morning. Jack's stirring roused the big Cybertronian, and yellow eyes opened to watch her.

The glow in her own eyes was a bit more notable than the night before. She blinked a few times, and then jerked up right, looking around for the bucket. Ultimus stretched out one arm, snagging the handle and tugging the bucket onto the bed. He pushed himself up to lean on one arm, rubbing her back gently.

There was more ADAM this time, or so it seemed to Jack as she regurgitated the green stuff. After a few minutes she leaned back, licking her lips and waited to see if there was more. When there wasn't she carefully pushed the bucket away, "At least that's not as bad as when harvesting it..."

"I would think that the regurgitating it would be worse than the gathering, but then, I've had to scavenge the dead and the dying to keep myself alive, so I'm more or less used to the collecting. It's the thought of bringing it back up that gives me the surges." Ultimus rubbed her back gently.

"It's not a whole lot that comes up really." Jack said, scooting back until she was leaning against the mech again. "Not when you see what a true Little Sister can do, or even a Big Sister when they have to."

Ultimus settled back down, letting her lean against him. "I'd have to wonder how such small girls can produce so much of this stuff." He was clearly thinking of the 6-year-old they'd seen with the Bouncer two days before.

"It's takes a little while to be able to." Jack said softly, "I don't think some of the Little Sisters eat anything more than a little bit once a week it seems."

"They run mostly on ADAM, I assume." He placed a bronze hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know how it all works, just what I've seen and... felt." Jack paused, wondering if that was the right world. The redhead wrapped an arm around her, giving her a gentle hug. It took a moment, as if she was remembering what a hug was again before hugging his arm back, "What you said before, what did you mean?"

Ultimus tilted his head. "Which particular thing I said are you referring to?"

"That I'm... yours?" Jack asked, "When you were talking to that Pack leader."

"My kind may be robotic, but we are capable of forming deep attachments," Ultimus said after a moment. "We care very deeply, and we do become very attached to people. As I've become attached to you." He gently leaned his head against her shoulder for a moment. "It's hard to explain... But I would put my own life on the line to keep you safe." Yellow eyes met hers.

"...you are a Big Daddy." Jack said as she mentally chewed on his words.

The redhead made a soft humming sound. "That's one way to put it..." He tilted his head. "Eventually, I will be going back to my own world... And I would take you with me, if you wished to come."

"...is it like Rapture?" Jack asked, eyes drifting to the single window in the room, showing off some of the glowing, underwater city.

"Cybertron is a dark world, but Earth is bright and open, with a bright sun and open skies, like the images I showed you when we met." In his human form Ultimus couldn't show holo-images, and he didn't feel like shifting back to mech just yet. "Room to run and room to play, where no one can sneak up on you like those damn spider splicers do."

The girl flinched against at the name of that type of splicer, "That would be nice I think... seeing the sun." Jack still wasn't fully sure about too much open space though.

Bronze fingers touched her cheek lightly. "It's not that bad once you get used to it."

"You should see the new Arcadia domes." Jack said after a minute, "I heard the oldest Big Sister led the making of them."

"Arcadia... I take it there's a nature section there? With green plants?" Ultimus tilted his head, lifting a curious eyebrow.

"There's several domes and sections as well as original Arcadia area." Jack said, pulling her legs up and grasping her toes, "I've been there several times."

"Sounds like an interesting place, though I would bet it's a bit frightening if someone's never seen trees," the redhead noted.

"Some of them are scary looking," Jack admitted, "And if you avoid the Saturnine it's really nice. I've seen Little Brothers there but not..." she paused looking down at her toes again.

"Not yours?" Ultimus asked delicately.

The girl shook her head, pulling her knees up, "I never found my parents either. I thought they'd be here."

The human Cybertronian made a soft sound, curling closer to her. "Their scents still linger here... I know them now. If we pass near any of your family, in whatever form, I will know."

Jack glanced up at last, "You can do that?"

Ultimus nodded. "Because of my predatory nature my sense of smell is highly enhanced. I can track pretty much any quarry by scent when I have to, and I can sort out many different scents from a crowd."

"...like how I can find ADAM, and know if it's good or bad?" Jack asked after thinking.

"By variations in the scent I can tell if someone is sick... Illness produces a distinct scent that anyone with a good nose can detect. Injuries and death are pretty easy to sniff out... More than I'd like at times." The big redhead shifted.

Jack eyed the bucket of ADAM, reaching out to nudge Ultimus to make it vanish. One bronze hand reached out to touch the handle, and the bucket vanished. The big redhead stretched, shaking back scarlet hair. His armor was piled next to the bed, as was Jack's dress, considerably cleaner than it had been.

The girl had a plan, and now that she wasn't worried about losing all that ADAM she made, Jack turned. She half flopped onto Ultimus' chest, trying to give him a hug. Ultimus made a soft purring sound, wrapping his arms around her and embracing her gently.

"You are a Big Daddy," Jack said again, still tired enough that her eyes had closed again as she rested there. Instinctually taking reassurance of the living warmth. The Cybertronian purred again, settling back so that she lay on his chest, rising and falling slightly as he breathed. Freeing one arm briefly, he pulled a cleaner blanket over her. The girl shifted, her ear against the human-formed Autobot's chest, listening to see if he sounded like a Big Daddy too in a random moment.

She was able to hear his breathing, the sound of air filling his lungs, then leaving on the exhale. His heart was a steady, powerful beat, slightly faster than human norm, a regular but powerful pulse. It was enough to let Jack doze off again. She didn't move when sleeping for the most part, going completely limp. Oddly like a Little Sister would as Ultimus may find out later.

Ultimus smiled, settling back into a doze as well. He was a fairly stationary sleeper as well, rarely shifting position more than an inch or two. After listening carefully for a long moment, he closed yellow eyes and slept.

Jack turn and shifted, making a face as she pushed herself up a little. She blinked, still under one of Ultimus' arms, the girl poked him to wake him up, "Ulimus...? I gotta go."

Yellow eyes opened the moment Jack started to move, and he let go, sitting up and stretching. The girl slid off, hopped down off the bed and bolted. It was a few odd minutes before she came back into sight again, seemingly to be wandering in the apartment.

Ultimus pushed himself to all fours, twisting slightly and getting several pops along the length of his spine. He watched the girl as she wandered about. Jack was looking at this thing or that picture, trying to link memories. She did sometimes, but it seemed more like a remembered dream as the girl blinked at a black and white picture of her family that was.

The human Cybertronian rose to his feet, padding over to look at the picture. "Your family?"

Jack nodded and held it up to show him, "I kind of remember it, Aunty took the picture. It was when we went to Fort Frolic together for the first time."

Ultimus looked at the picture. "I never had a family... I was built in a lab."

"I was taken to the labs." Jack gave a humorless smile, she reached up to touch one of his hands.

"I was built in a time when my people were enslaved, built and sold and broken for profit." His lip curled briefly. "I was a gladiator, fighting and killing my own kind, to entertain our enslavers. But I had no family. Not then."

"...but what about now?" Jack asked, blinked, most of that going half over her head again.

"Now, I consider my commander to be something like family... And you, as well." His yellow eyes were serious; he meant every word. Jack tilted her head, holding the picture in her arms, still not sure how he could form an attachment to her within the last few days. Big Daddies did but they were made/altered that way... One corner of Ultimus' mouth twitched into a faint smile. "We may be robotic in nature, but my people are as capable of forming deep bonds as humans are."

"You said that before." Jack pointed out.

"So many think that just because we're machines means we don't feel. It drives us crazy." He leaned against the wall. "It's hard to explain..."

"Big Daddies feel," Jack said slowly, "And they're alive too, just like you."

"But they were human originally," Ultimus pointed out. "I never was. I'm circuits and steel, chips and circuit boards. To most people, machines can't feel."

"The Thinker does I heard." Jack shrugged, and then poked the human formed Autobot's... human-ish-ness, poking him in the leg.

"Interesting." Ultimus barely twitched at the poke, smiling down at her. "Curious as a sparkling," he murmured softly. A 'what?' look was what he got in return, the confusion with Jack at some of the things Ultimus said was starting to become normal now. "'Sparkling' is the term for a child of my race," Ultimus explained. He smiled briefly. "Yes, we can reproduce even though we are mechanical life-forms."

Jack shrugged, having never been predisposed to idea that 'machines' could make babies- even if she wasn't sure how that could happen. "Now what?"

The redhead tilted his head, consulting his time sense. "There should still be time before the old man expects us back..." He lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

"Should we go early or do you want to still look at the archives here?" Jack asked as she carefully put her family photo down.

"I would like to know about Rapture... How it was before it fell, and why it fell. There is nothing like this where I come from," he replied, fishing his hairbrush out and picking at a knot trying to form in scarlet hair.

"The archives in this building aren't all of Rapture's, but it maybe will help?" Jack offered.

"Since I know next to nothing about Rapture, anything will be of help," Ultimus replied.

"What about that person you talk to on the radio?" Jack asked as she once more started to poke through things but, she wasn't taking anything.

"Icy? Sometimes getting her to tell me anything is like pulling teeth. She does her own thing." He shrugged, finally getting the knot out and tying red hair back in a ponytail.

The girl paused and tilted her head up at him, "Have you ever said please?"

Ultimus blinked at that, "Can't say it's ever occurred to me."

"Momma Tenenbaum liked it." Jack looked down, shifting.

"I'll have to remember that." The big redhead looked slightly sheepish. "Manners were not important when I was built, around eighty million years ago, and I have yet to pick many of them up."

His mentioned age didn't mean a much to Jack (other than 'really damn old!' from an ADAM given thought), "Well, most people I knew liked them."

Broad shoulders rose slightly. "In the middle of the battlefield, manners don't mean much. And more than a few of my fellow warriors get insulted if you try to be polite."

"It's not a battle field now." Jack pointed out.

"Not here. But where I come from, occasionally." Ultimus blew a stray strand of hair out of his eyes, offering Jack the brush.

She took it, blinked and handed it back, grinning, "Please?" Ultimus smiled, settling cross-legged on the floor after retrieving the blue ribbon. Placing the ribbon on his knee, he waited patiently. The girl hopped into his lap without hesitation this time, wriggling with repressed energy and beaming. "Please does work!" She announced.

Ultimus had to laugh at that as he gently began brushing out her hair. Since it had been wet when they'd settled down to rest, it had dried frizzy and had wrapped itself into several knots. He carefully teased out the knots, taming the frizz until it lay smooth again. Picking up the ribbon, he neatly tied Jack's hair back.

She reached back after feeling he was done to pat at the bow. Smiling, still proud of that ribbon he'd given her, she slid off the Autobot's lap and headed to the bathroom for the last part that went with her dress. "I think... there's a few archive rooms..."

The Cybertronian rose to his feet, indulging in one last stretch before going to retrieve his tunic and armor, drawing himself up to his full, impressive height. His armor-plated boots were silent as he padded over to his piled armor, pulling on his tunic and beginning to reattach armor plates.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ultra Rodimus' notes: In this chapter we find out more of Jack's backstory and what happened to her, as well as a revelation about the Thinker. Readers who figure out what that revelation is get cookies and a free plasmid.

Jack suddenly screamed in the bathroom, flailed and turned to bolt out. Ultimus jumped in surprise, darting over to see what had startled her so badly. He stared at her for a moment, than scanned the room, sniffing for any scent of a threat. Yet there was none, no new scents at all.

"Evilthing! Killitkillitkillit!" Jack spoke, near babbled, so fast that her words ran together.

Ultimus gave the girl a confused look. "What?"

She squeaked from where she was hiding behind a door frame of the bedroom. One small arm snaked around said frame and pointed to the bathroom.

The redhead looked from her to the bathroom and back several times. Finally, he spotted movement, yellow eyes immediately fixing on it. For a long moment he just stared at a rather small spider scuttling around on the floor, then looked back at Jack. "A spider?"

"EVILTHING!" Jack cried, as terrified as she was with the spider splicers.

Ultimus blinked and then stepped in, using the tip of one of the claws of his gauntlets to skewer the spider. Flicking his wrist, he dropped the spider into the toilet, flushing it down. "It's gone."

"Are you sure?" Jack's voice drifted from the bedroom, she had retreated back just out of sight.

"Skewered and flushed down the toilet," the big redhead confirmed, emerging from the bathroom.

It took a few seconds before Jack's glowing eyes- a bit brighter than from the day before, peered around the corner. The girl fought down some shaking, taking deep breaths as she came slowly over. Ultimus stayed by the door, letting her see that there was no more spider.

Jack grabbed onto his leg and looked into the bathroom. She sighed and relaxed, paused and looked down, "Sorry..."

"You're not the only person I know who's afraid of spiders," he replied kneeling down stroking her back, careful to keep his claws away from her skin. "I rarely notice them, since I'm so big and they're tiny in comparison."

"They're small but have bad venom." Jack muttered into the Autobot's leg.

"In my true form I am too big to notice, and the venom has absolutely no effect," Ultimus told her. "I'm fairly sure some spiders do crawl through chinks in my armor, but they end up getting crushed between internal moving parts."

"Spiders are bad." Jack said firmly, "Of any kind."

"They are." Ultimus nodded. "Well, this one is dead now."

"Good." Jack didn't let go right away, but when she did it was to walk over to the black and white photos again. Reaching for the one with all five of her former family, mother, father, aunt, little brother and herself all standing in front of a tree, but with the very edge of a bulkhead in the side of a picture

Ultimus padded over to look over her shoulder. Yellow eyes took in all the figures in it, matching faces to scents, to ensure that he'd be able to identify any of them should their paths cross.

"I remember this." Jack said turning the photo over and attacking the back to get the picture out, "It was before aunty went missing and before they took me."

Reaching down, Ultimus carefully pried the back off the picture, removing the photo from the frame and passing it to her. "Missing?"

She just shrugged, "Daddy was really upset, we had dinner with Aunty one night and next day daddy found her gone."

"I can understand why he would be upset." Ultimus nodded.

"I think... it was a few weeks before They came." Jack continued, folding the picture after another long look and made to put it between dress and sash. She blinked. That was right, she was going to get that when she saw the spider.

"'They'?" Ultimus repeated somewhat tentatively.

"The scary men." Jack glanced up, hesitated to go in the bathroom before darting in to get the sash and darting back out. She shook it to be extra sure there was no spiders and tried to put it on, "They took me to the orphanage, and then to where Momma Tenenbaum and... worked."

"Was it this Tenenbaum who put that slug in you?" the human Cybertronian asked.

"No, Papa Suchong did that." The girl shook her head, one hand over the neater of the scars on her front, hidden by the dress. "She made the slugs, and taught us how to gather... and did things in here." Jack pointed to her head, "Mental...condish...con... she made the other girls Sisters."

"Conditioning." Ultimus' lip curled briefly to show a flash of fang.

Jack set the picture down and reached up to tug at Ultimus' fingers for attention, holding up the sash with the other hand. Her yellow eyes were wide and pleading, "Help please?" she asked, not seeming too concerned about what had happened in her past anymore.

The human Transformer smiled slightly, taking the sash and settling it into place, tying it with a neat bow, "Certainly."

"Thank you!" The girl retrieved that family photo and put in between sash and dress, a sort of pocket and hoped it would stay. Ultimus tilted his head for a moment, then pulled the picture out and undid the sash, doubling it over and retying it. Then he slid the photo into the space between the double halves of the sash, where it would be more securely held.

Jack blinked several times before fiddling with the sash to see how it would stay put. She smiled up at Ultimus and hugged his leg in thanks.

"I've figured out quite a few tricks to stashing things and getting them to stay put," he said, smiling at her.

"There's a lot of hidden places here." Jack said, waving her arms and meaning the whole of the underwater city. Then she remembered that she'd need that gathering needle and set about hunting it down.

"Next to the pile of cans," Ultimus told her, indicating the needle next to a neat pyramid of assorted canned goods. He was refastening his armor over his tunic, shaking slightly to settle the plates properly into place.

Jack went over to get it, picking up some of the full cans and shaking them. She was looking for that sound that had come from the canned peaches like the day before. One can had her puzzling over, "What's pooor-kit?" She frowned and tried sounding out the word 'pork' again. Twelve years old she may be, and with 'help' from ADAM given memories, Jack still didn't have the best education.

"It's meat, quite tasty from what I've heard." Picking up his helm and carrying it under his arm, Ultimus walked over to join her.

"Huh..." Jack tilted her head and put the can down, not quite hungry yet. She shook a few more but didn't find the right sound. The girl looked again at the cans and back up at Ultimus, "Do we need to take any with us?"

"If you want some for later, we can." The big redhead nodded.

"Do you not have anything left?" Jack asked as she found a sardine can and carefully started to peel it back to get at the salty little fish inside.

"I have a couple boxes left. But it's all dry food, like granola bars, trail mix, nuts, and things like that. Foods that won't be overly bothered by being bounced around in the trailer of a fast-moving long-haul semi. Most humans get quite tired of that kind of food after a while." Armored shoulders lifted in a slight shrug as the redhead made a mental note to start stashing some canned foods.

"I never had it before." Jack said, even as she was pushing cans at Ultimus and ducking into the cabinets to get any she missed the first time, crunching on the salted sardines at the same time like some kids on the surface would munch chips.

Ultimus picked up the cans, each one vanishing into thin air as he touched them, shunted to his subspace pocket. They would be stacked in his trailer later, whenever they decided to stop for a rest or a snack.

The girl backed up, sneezing, "I think that's all... can't reach the top cabinets."

Ultimus rose to his feet, stretching up to his full height and checking the cabinets. He fished down a couple more cans from a high shelf, wedged in the back. One's label was almost unreadable, but the faded image was definitely of a ten-armed boneless member of the octopus family.

"Squid!" Jack grinned, pleased to say the least. It was a strange image for sure, the girl with unnatural glowing eyes, one hand holding a gatherer's needle with some blood still inside, the last sardine in her other fingers, skin seemingly paler than before and excited about a possible can of squid.

Rapture was as much a weird place as it could be wonderful or scary.

"Looks like there are a few cans still floating around." Ultimus chuckled. "Just in high, hard to reach places."

"The white cans of squid are the best." The girl said, putting empty cans in a garbage bin to the side of the kitchen. She wanted to keep her former home as clean as possible even if she may never come back again. "I don't like red ones, they burn. The blue ones are just... icky."

Ultimus examined the label. "Either this one was white, or it's the most faded label I've ever come across."

"Mommy-" Jack hitched slightly, as if the word she spoke had choked her. It took three seconds before she could speak again, "Mother," she paused another second, "Didn't like spicy things so only daddy got them." She frowned, Jack hadn't tripped over the words 'mommy' and 'mother' in a long time... was it because of the extra ADAM re-triggering what had been done to her head before?

Bronzed fingers brushed lightly over her cheek. Ultimus' yellow eyes dimmed a bit.

Jack looked up at the touch, her fingers wrapping around a few of the Autobot's, "What?" she asked, pretending as if she didn't choke on words.

The human mech didn't say anything out loud, but the expression in yellow eyes spoke volumes. After a long moment Jack lifted her arms in a silent request to be picked up again. The girl was not so slowly becoming more dependent on him, latching onto the Autobot in more than one way.

Ultimus settled his helm into place and then picked Jack up, holding her against his chest. He put his shoulder against the bookcase blocking the door, pushing it aside just enough to slip outside, shifting back to mech form as he did so, needing his sensors to check for splicers. As he exited, he passed through the red beam of the trap rivet, having somehow forgotten it was there.

The metal of his form, though living was still metal, and so the rivet didn't trigger.

"I hope no one goes in there." Jack said softly, looking to the side and at her former home before resting her head back on Ultimus' chest.

The big mech carefully closed the door, glancing around before hacking the lock so that it was securely closed. "No one but us has been in there for quite some time, from the looks of things."

"Smelled empty," Jack agreed, "Are we going to the pack now?"

Ultimus consulted his time sense. "It's not quite time to head down, but we can start meandering in that direction..."

"There's the building archives in the levels above." Jack remembered, sheepish.

Yellow optics scanned the area. Then he padded toward the stairs, heading to the upper levels.

"Don't hurt any of the Packers if you see them." Jack warned, paused and added, "Or if you have to make sure there's no cameras and none get away..."

Ultimus nodded. "I will remember that... I don't want to hurt them if I don't have to, though."

Jack shrugged, "They're splicers, little ones but still..." The girl didn't have that much sympathy for the full fledged spliced Packers. She paused and looked up at Ultimus' face, "How many normal kids do you think were down there?"

"There were several that did not bear the scent of ADAM," Ultimus replied, "Not many, but there were some. I am assuming that survival down here is very difficult without ADAM and plasmids."

"Depends on where you're at I think." Jack said, "And how old you are. I was just thinking... The Big Sisters have been following you right?"

"They seem to be all over." Gold-streaked hornlike crests gestured at something far down the corridor, something he could detect with his sensors at the very edge of his range.

"I don't know how many there really is," Jack paused, "Not sure who would know either. They do teleport a lot... but I hope the Packers don't find out they're following you... us..."

Ultimus looked at her curiously. "Why?"

The girl looked up, worried and little afraid, "Big Sisters raid Packs, remember? As soon as they find them most of the time."

"Ohhh." Ultimus nodded, filing that away. "They usually don't get too close... Just barely at the farthest range of my sensors. Unless I have my trailer out, apparently."

"Or when your attention is focused elsewhere," Jack said remembering that one young Big Sister that had crept up on the mech while he was watching one outside a window.

"I have since learned to keep my sensors on full, in all directions." Ultimus' smile was slightly sheepish now.

"Big Sisters are good at sneaking." Jack said, picking up on the sheepishness and trying to make him feel better.

"But once I actually think to look for them, they can't hide from me." Ultimus snorted at himself. "It's just the thinking to look for them that gets me, sometimes."

"They like odd places, and can blend in." Jack offered, turning to see what floor they were passing.

"And they do so very well. My sensors can detect the ADAM in them, though." Ultimus paused to look around, lifting his head to smell the air.

"What is it?" Jack asked, sniffing too. That was another thing that set her apart from a normal human, she didn't rely on her eyes nearly as much as one of them would.

"A habit... I don't venture into a new area without checking the scents," he admitted. "Part of my predatory nature. I'm a suspicious glitch." He inhaled, spent air hissing out the vents on his neck. "Death... There's a corpse down that way. Few more in the rooms off to the side."

"Go right... I think." the girl hesitated, trying to remember, "That's where the computers are."

Ultimus nodded, turning to the right. He heard a scrabbling sound farther down the corridor, but a deep, throaty growl of warning sent the source of the noise hurrying in the other direction. The child couldn't help a soft giggle as she heard that, she could happily get used to this feeling of protection. Jack wondered if this was what a Little Sister felt like most of the time.

"They're learning." Ultimus continued in the indicated direction.

"The splicers around here at least." Jack smiled, turning to look at doors.

"As long as they have enough sense to want to keep their heads from being reduced to pulp, that's fine with me." One armored shoulder lifted in a shrug.

"It should be around here somewhere." the girl muttered, frowning at an open doorway.

Yellow optics flashed as Ultimus scanned for signs of computer activity. "Over there?" He indicated another door, looking at Jack questioningly.

Jack slowly nodded, "It's been a long time since I was here last, and that was always with one of my parents."

Ultimus made his way toward the door, scanning carefully for any lurkers that might be inside. Turning slightly, he poked his head inside to eyeball the room, keeping Jack shielded with his own heavy armor.

"Commuters?" Jack asked, trying to see as well.

"Computers." The big mech stepped fully into the room, carrying himself in a manner that clearly announced "approach and die". Any lurker with an ounce of sense would be wise to heed the unspoken warning.

"Are they alive?" Jack asked, meaning the power flow other then the flickering lights, if the computers weren't working she was fairly sure that she could find the hard cover back up archives.

"According to my sensors there is power running through the machines." Ultimus poked at the nearest keyboard, watching the monitor light up slowly.

The girl squirmed to be put down, "I can use my father's old password, I think it should still work. And I know a few others." She added touching the side of her head.

Ultimus nodded, gently placing the girl in front of the computer. "I probably could hack it, but I do not want to offend the Thinker before I have had a chance to speak with it."

Jack set her gatherer's needle on the desk before dragging over a still mostly steady chair and climbing onto it. She lifted the keyboard and fiddled with a 12 inch by 6 pad under it before poking at the keys that were more like those on typewriter than the modern computer keys.

Ultimus settled into a crouch and watched, lifting his head every so often to scan for danger. Once he did let out a deep growl, and something scuttled off into the darkness, but otherwise he remained silent.

Jack looked up from her poor typing coordination to blink at the Autobot, "What?"

Yellow eyes glowed brightly. "Probably an ADAM-laced feline, judging from the size. Fortunately, it is well aware that I am a bigger and stronger predator, and knows enough to leave us alone."

"...I don't know how the Big Sisters can hold those kitties..." Jack muttered as she went back to her not so speedy typing.

"Judging from what I know of felines, probably by wearing armored gloves to ward off the claws." Ultimus grinned briefly, the vents on his neck hissing.

The girl smiled over at him, and then glanced up, blinking at something. She hesitated and then waved at a corner. Ultimus turned to eye the corner, the armor on his shoulders and upper back actually managing to bristle.

"Camera." Jack said, "It might be the Thinker."

Armor resettled with the soft click and rasp of metal on metal. Ultimus gazed at the camera steadily, making a comment in Cybertronian. Why, he couldn't really say, but something compelled him to address the camera in his own language. The camera shifted focus from girl to the Autobot, seeming to zoom in on Ultimus. Not five seconds later Jack gave a small, proud cheer, holding her hands up in triumph.

"I did it!"

Ultimus smiled, his optics glowing brightly as he gently ran a hand down her arm, deliberately stretching his back to expose the red insignia on his chest before turning away from the camera. "I guess no one ever got around to locking older passwords out of the system."

"Or they were just too spliced." Jack said as she climbed onto the desk to leave the chair free. "Building history is filed by date on paper, not sure if it's the same on computer..."

"Let's find out." Ultimus scanned the monitor, reaching around Jack to poke at the keyboard.

The girl kicked her legs freely, watching what the Autobot was doing. "Aunty used to work in the archives." she said suddenly as if remembering, then she frowned, "Maybe... if it was mine, or someone else's." She shrugged.

Ultimus poked at the keyboard, eyeing the screen. "Looks like it's listed by date... Definitely easier to find things that way."

"Last date I remember was..." Jack paused to shift through her ADAM memories as well as her own broken one, "1... 1961 I think." she blinked and shivered looking down at her lap as the girl wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Ultimus blinked. So he'd gone back in time as well as jumping dimensions. Turning his attention to the computer, he began searching for the databases for anything from 1961.

The girl got off the desk and climbed up into the mech's lap. She pointed at a yellow box, "That should be stored and live security feeds there."

Yellow eyes blinked at the box. "Security feeds? That could be helpful..."

Jack tilted her head, "Maybe the code was from a security person?" she offered, eyed the screen, "looks like it."

"They won't be needing it anymore, and the information could be very helpful." The redhead's gaze darted between several monitors, absorbing information faster than any human ever could.

"Nope!" Jack agreed. "I got that code from last night." She grinned, obscurely proud that she could absorb genetic memories. More so now that it was proving helpful to Ultimus, now that she understood he was going to be her protector.

The big redhead was quickly absorbing all the information the system could give him. As he did so, he had to wonder if the Thinker was controlling the flow of information; he knew it was watching them. There was a flash of an image in one camera, a woman that was like and unlike Jack. It was one of the two women that had been in that family photo. In another screen a date was being highlighted and blinking to draw attention.

Ultimus caught the flash from the corner of one optic, turning his attention in that direction. Yellow eyes scanned the displayed information, narrowing slightly.

"What is it?" Jack looked up from fiddling with the gatherer's needle in her hands, trying to adjust it to extract faster.

"I get the feeling that the Thinker wants me to know something very specific." Ultimus swiveled the chair to face the screens.

The girl looked back down to fit a small gear back into place, only to jump nearly off Ultimus' lap as sound filtered through speakers behind the screens. Voices and words became clear with the images of a few different angles, hallways with normal looking humans. Jack focused on the screens and latched onto the mech.

Ultimus wrapped a protective arm around her, holding her close to his chestplate as he watched the screens. Slowly, his lip curled to expose the gleam of fang.

"Those... are..." Jack said pointing at one screen with marching men that had active plasmids, "Those are the Bad People!"

"Bad People?" Ultimus eyed the display, noting the date.

The girl seemed to lose her speech as some of the men were seen in a clip where they were breaking into an apartment from the outside. That clip was moved to the larger middle screen, the accompanying audio changed as well, a woman was screaming threats and pleas, the sound of a electrobolt plasmid discharging was heard followed by more screaming of the same woman and a child.

A deep growl started somewhere in Ultimus' chest, and he fully bared his fangs. His optics glowed a sulfurous yellow with rage. Jack looked back up at the screens to see the men retreating with a squirming four year old girl under one arm before she was sedated. The mother of the child was dragging herself out after when the men vanished from the frame. The screen flipped to another clip like that one, and then another, the fourth was more familiar hall...

The growl became a snarl, the glow of yellow optics dangerously bright. The claws on one hand were unsheathed, digging into the surface of the desk as the metal crunched and broke in Ultimus' grip. The girl in his arms made a tiny sound of fear, but not at his actions. She was reliving the event on the screens from her point of view, broken memories or not she still remembered at the men broke in, her mother and father yelling, sparks and fire flying. One fire gout shot out the door getting two of the men set ablaze.

If any of those humans still lived, should they cross the redhead's path they would be on the floor with their throats ripped out. Steam was actually hissing from the air vents on his neck as he glared at the screens. On screen some of the apartment scuffle was visible, and then one man bolted out with a limp young boy and soon another man had a screaming five or so year old girl.

Jack curled up, hiding from the memories and the images. A muffled, "Make it stop." was heard and after a few moment the screen flipped to something else. The Thinker was controlling it for sure, and could hear them.

A faint hint of green showed at the corner of Ultimus' mouth; he'd bitten his own tongue to keep from letting out the scream of raw fury that desperately wanted to escape. His body trembled slightly with the effort of holding it in. Releasing his hold on the crushed edge of the desk, he pulled back his claws and wrapped his other arm around Jack.

Other things were being shown on the screens, what the Thinker thought Ultimus should know... or what it could show him. The images repeated a few times in the exact same way, a map of sorts. Ultimus' optics narrowed as he took note of the images, piecing them together to form a map. Every tiny detail was noted and filed away in his memory.

Jack didn't move for a long time, missing out much of whatever the Thinker was showing. She peeked up slowly when she stopped shaking, eyeing screens distrustfully.

"It's showing us the way... The images are forming a map." Ultimus' voice still bore the rumble of a growl.

"Way to what?" Jack asked, frowning just a little, she knew where she was going... most of the time.

"Something to do with what was done to you, judging from the content of the images." Ultimus eyed the screen.

"What happened-the slug?" Jack asked, wary.

"I would guess something to do with the Little Sister/Little Brother program." Ultimus added to the mental map he was forming, taking in the images displayed.

"That was almost on the other side of the city where they did that to me." Jack frowned, twitching a little before rubbing her arms, "And then the training grounds aren't near here either."

"Do any of those images look familiar?" The big mech indicated the screen. "If none of those places are in this area, I can assume the Thinker wants us to go there when we've gotten that far."

The girl shifted in the mech's lap, staring intently at the images as she sank mentally into her assorted memories. When the pictures slowed she pointed, "That's the way to the Den, and the archives. That's a tram station ...maybe that's Fort Frolic."

"Something there that the Thinker wants me to see." Ultimus pondered that.

"Too bad it can't talk outside of the Den." Jack commented, still keeping her hold on one of Ultimus' arms.

Ultimus nodded. "We'll go, and we'll talk to it..."

"But we have to get there first." Jack pointed out and then pointed down, meaning the Pack's own 'den.'

Ultimus nodded. "And it's about time for us to start heading down..." He rose to his feet, still carrying Jack. Turning to face the camera, he spoke in Cybertronian before heading for the door.

The main screen flipped on again at the Autobot's back, a clip from a Rapture commercial of a young boy waving.

The redhead smiled slightly as he trotted lightly down the stairs toward the pack den, keeping his sensors open for any other trouble that might be creeping up on them.

A metallic sound came from above and slightly to the right before a yellow glow of a Big Sister's eyes lit the darkness. She was holding perfectly still, crouched with hand on the ground and knees to the side. She was just in front of several hanging/strung up and ADAM rich bodies, the modified needle had its attached jar filled, but she was watching Ultimus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review! We love reviews; they keep us writing and reassure us that someone actually is reading our work. Reviews also help us keep track of trypos and the occasional continuity/plot error


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ultra Rodimus' notes: More clues as to the nature of The Thinker. Nobody tried to guess last chapter, so I got to keep all the plasmids for myself. Here we also begin the trip to Minerva's Den. Anyone who's played the Minerva's Den DLC for BioShock 2 should have some idea where we're going. And who we're going to meet there.

Ultimus paused, turning toward the sound. His yellow eyes narrowed as he gazed at the Big Sister.

The Big Sister tilted her head, and some of her own red hair fell into her face. There was something different about her then the others... other than seeming to be bigger. No, she was older, it was in her face and body.

The big mech lifted his head, letting a soft rumble escape. He knew she was different, but he couldn't tell in which way. He just hoped she stayed where she was, rather than following him and Jack.

The nightmare of Rapture tilted her head the other way, a full movement before she chuckled. Shifting she used the claws that were integrated on her right glove to snap one of the lines of her prizes, letting the body drop with a thump in front of the pair. "Better eat while you can Little Sister." She said, "You may have to run as soon as you're done with the Pack."

Jack clutched on tighter to Ultimus, gaping up at the older gatherer.

Ultimus bared his fangs. "To get near her they'll have to deal with me."

"They won't be fussing about her or you at first." The Big Sister smiled.

"No resident of this city has seen a member of my race in full fighting fury," Ultimus informed the Big Sister flatly.

She shifted and grabbed up her helmet, dropping down in front of Ultimus. By her own movements the Big Sister was acting like a top predator, and in this world, her world she was. The arm the modified needle was on jerked as she absorbed the blood and ADAM. "The Thinker has."

Yellow optics narrowed. "Are you implying that the Thinker is one of my kind?"

"You're from up there?" The Big Sister asked and pointed up, "Space beyond the sky?"

"Far beyond the sky," Ultimus answered.

"Then yes I am implying that."

Jack couldn't help but smile at that, glancing from the red head Sister to the mech above.

"I would have to wonder how another Cybertronian got here," was the level response.

"I have many memories but none from Porter." The Big Sister shrugged, smoothing her bangs back before putting her helmet back on, "You would have to ask him. Or get his blood."

"I'm no telepath, nor do I obtain memories from drinking blood," Ultimus informed her. "As for the pack, should they try anything funny, they will quickly learn how big a mistake that is."

"Packs are good for harvesting." The Big Sister's voice was farther warped now that her helmet was locked into place again. "We're raiding in twenty minutes, better move fast." She gave him a clear, mocking salute before teleporting.

Ultimus snarled, then turned away, moving quickly toward the lower levels.

"She... warned us." Jack spoke, looking around as if trying to find the Big Sister, "They never warn."

"Let's get this over with." Ultimus tightened his jaw, his optics as hard as his armor

The girl hesitated and then moved, using Ultimus' arm to stand on and debated climbing up onto his shoulder. But thought better of it as there were a few low door frames to get under, so Jack stayed where she was, leaning forward to get a good look around as they moved. Her attention was more on what windows where visible from her angle and before they came to the stairs spoke softly so not to be over heard by any possible lingering Pack Splicers.

"There're Big Sisters outside."

"I can sense them." Ultimus' eyes glowed in the dimness, his armor bristling.

"If they wanted to come after us, I think they would have already." Jack pointed out, "I bet that old Big Sister is leading them."

"If they tried, they would get quite a shock." Fangs gleamed slightly as the redhead bared them. The weapon he pulled out wasn't the rivet gun this time, but a sleek, advanced-looking long-barreled gun of some sort.

"I don't think killing Big Sisters would be a good idea." The girl said, wide eyed at the new weapon.

"I wouldn't kill them unless I have no other choice," he replied. "But the loss of an appendage, like a foot, would at least slow them down for a while."

Jack scrunched up her face, "Not if they get it back into place real fast."

Ultimus lifted one shoulder in a shrug. Then yellow eyes narrowed as the big mech began tracking on something.

"Cuz' this happens..." Jack shifted and moved to bring her forearm to the closer set of the mech's claws against them to demonstrate what she meant. Ultimus looked down at her in surprise, but didn't retract his claws yet. Before she could be stopped, Jack moved and with a scrunched face as she braced for the pain, cut open her forearm. Blood seeped down and out as she jerked the arm up so the open wound was clearly visible to the mech...

And the yellow pulses of color in veins under the skin surrounding it. the ADAM thick blood was already becoming thicker as the flesh pulled itself back together until only a seam was left. Even that pulsed with the same yellow-ish stuff and then sealed.

"See?" Jack smiled after it was done, "The Sisters can do it faster since they have more ADAM than I do."

The Cybertronian just stared. "I've never seen anyone heal that fast before."

"It wasn't that fast," Jack said looking down at her arm as she rubbed at the blood still on the outside, debating on giving into the gatherer's urge to not let it go to waste.

"At least your blood doesn't corrode like acid," the redhead observed. "Mine does."

The girl looked up, frowning, "How does it stay inside then?"

"My body is made to contain it... and that which causes the burning, the nanites that repair my body, will not attack anything that has my energy signature." Using one sharp fang, Ultimus bit his own lip, then scooped off a fat dark green drop with one finger and let it fall to the floor. The nanites promptly began eating away at the metal, creating a sizzling hole as wide as the mech's hand and spread fingers before the nanites began to deactivate.

Jack managed to pale more than her already normal pale-ish coloring (from never having seen real sunlight), "Please don't do that near the outer walls... or windows." she shuddered in the very real fear an organic got when living in and under water or space faring environment.

Ultimus nodded. "I'm well aware of the danger... And weapons down here won't pierce my armor. Only my own weapons are capable of getting through to my fuel lines."

"What about plasmids?" The girl asked, catching movement of a small slightly disfigured form of a young Packer.

"My own leader discharges more voltage at a time than the Electrobolt plasmid; I've been hit before and never bled because of it. And you already know I'm pretty much fireproof." He arched an eyebrow, referencing how she'd thrown fire at him when they'd first met.

"There's other plasmids too." Jack pointed out, "Like, where we're going to the Den, there's this thing called gravity well..."

"I can withstand extremes of heat and cold, and my body is very strong... I was built like a bipedal tank, to take a pounding and keep right on coming. And those who built me designed me to take more punishment than any human can dish out," he assured her.

Jack didn't look convinced fully as they finally descended back into the level the Pack had taken over. Unlike last time the doors where closed except one, where what could have been a girl Jack's own age of about 12.

This former child though had larger eyes that glowed green not yellow tinted. Her body thin and toned, but her arms seemed a little too long, ending in fingers that had fused into large three digit claws. Black hair hung down limp and loose, strangely it wasn't tangled and she had on a rather well preserved dress, though was just as bare foot as Jack. The Packer blinked slowly up at Ultimus as if not seeing him, despite being right smack dab in the way.

The redhead paused, eyeing the packer. Yellow eyes flared as he ran several in-depth scans, knowing that the science crew would be looking over all the data he was collecting for months.

The Packer's organs were altered as well, more steam lined and more flexible it seemed. It took a long while for her to focus on Ultimus, taking in his massive frame as well as Jack, the gatherer's needle... The mutated child smiled, "Daddy." she said and behind her several more sets of bio-luminescent eyes opened in the semi dark, peeking out of doorways in the hall beyond.

"Not yours," Ultimus rumbled, making his way forward.

"Don't touch her," Jack muttered, "It might panic her and set off a chain reaction. Or... or try to get her to move nicely."

"Was not planning on touching her." The redhead took two huge strides, then fired all the hydraulics in his legs, lowering his head so as not to hit the ceiling as he vaulted over the packer's head, landing neatly behind her. Jack clung to the mech, wincing and when he landed held her hands over her ears, but only a baffled sound came from the Packer, and a few confused squeaks from the shadows. Ultimus straightened, glanced around, and then continued on his way, ignoring the startled sounds.

"Do you think Garlding will be at the same place?" Jack asked, shifting in the mech's hold, putting a hand to her stomach. That slug must really be working inside of her since she didn't have that 'empty' feeling again like the other day.

The redhead sniffed, then adjusted his course. "He's over here."

Unexpectedly a high squeal of laughter drifted over to the two of them. Ahead two bodies of normal children and a slightly altered Packer came tumbling into view. The two boys got up and sprinted off to finish the race as the young, normal, girl stayed sitting, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her wrists.

Ultimus paused, staring after them, then shook his head and continued. "Kids..."

The younger girl looked up, spotted Ultimus and Jack and bounced to her feet, "Papa!" She yelled, running over to the aged form just out of sight around a corner.

The redhead snorted to himself, padding in that direction. Turning the corner, he fixed his sulfur gaze on the aged human.

Garlding's humped body was being supported by his cane and another older Packer, like the one in the entry way but a male. The old man's lined face was in a sad smile for the girl hiding behind his leg and peeking out. He looked up to meet the mech's gaze as best he could from his general position. "Back again I see."

"We are." Ultimus' voice deepened to a growl.

The boy Packer tensed at the growl, hissing softly in return as the little girl hugged the old man's leg, Garlding held out a hand to keep the former from moving. "Calm down. Have the ADAM?"

Jack hiccupped just then.

Unexpectedly, the elder human smiled at that.

One armored, claw-tipped hand lifted, and Ultimus called the full bucket from subspace.

The Packer shifted, pausing to be sure the old man was going to stay up right one his own before edging over to the mech, humming nervously at being so close to a- well to his eyes a Bonded pair of a Big Daddy and his charge.

Ultimus kept his gaze on the pack leader, but he was quite aware of the others inching closer. The altered boy reached for the bucket, twitched, held his breath and touched it. He looked about ready to bolt off now. The big mech did not react, except to shift his gaze briefly to the packer, then back to the pack leader.

"Just take it Joob." Garlding said with a sigh, watching the boy do as he was told and edge back. The man eyed the bucket before rummaging in the brown jacket that clung to his form. He came up with a golden disk like thing and poked the girl with it, motioning to Ultimus, "Give this to him for Papa, there's a good lass."

"I have reason to believe that the Thinker might have been one of my own kind," Ultimus rumbled, accepting the disk.

The girl looked up, as wide-eyed as the Packer had been before skittering back to her grandfather.

"The Thinker?" Garlding frowned, "You would have to ask it. And toss that key into a vent once you're done with it Tin Daddy." he added as he started his slow walk back to the power relay station.

"It was watching us while we were in the upper levels, and it responded when I spoke in my own tongue. Since organics cannot understand the spoken language of my homeworld, much less speak it, the Thinker must be Cybertronian." Ultimus' eyes flamed. He tucked the key into a forearm compartment.

"Hmm... the thing always was too smart." the man muttered, frowning, but he shook his head, sighing, "Getting too old to walk around like this..."

"You can do it Papa," the girl said faithfully, holding her elder's hand as behind them the Packer was shuffling with the bucket into the room they had came out of beforehand.

"No hints as to where to speak to the Thinker?" Ultimus lifted an eyebrow as he watched.

"In the Den, probably a station room if Reed hasn't destroyed them all or blocked them." Garlding said after a minute of thinking, "If he did, you'll have to make your way into the main interfacing chamber, never been there myself though."

Ultimus nodded slightly, then turned. "Just a bit of advice, but all of you may want to hide..."

The elder tilted his head a little, frowning again after the mech as two Packers dropped from above to help him along.

Jack peered back after and the lowered herself as if trying to hide in Ultimus' arms.

The big redhead let out a roaring howl, warning the lurking Big Sisters to back off before he sprang forward, heading out of Packer territory. Jack was back to clinging and didn't look up until she felt the mech slow, in that way she missed seeing the three Big Sisters, and one Big Brother that were all balancing on the rails of the stairs that led down. They made no move to the mech other than shifting to watch him go.

Ultimus growled at them as he darted past, heading out. His warning roar echoed down the corridors, warning the packers to run.

"I really hope they don't think we were linked to that." Jack muttered, still doing her impression of a leech.

"Would someone involved in the raid bother to warn them beforehand?" Ultimus quickly hit full stride, faster than any human could hope to match.

"Those that are spliced don't know a lot of sense!" Jack pointed out.

The redhead bounded down the corridor, easily outdistancing anyone who might try to follow them. "A good reason to disappear quickly."

"Are you going the right way?" Jack asked finally peeking up and a trying to see where they were going.

"From the signs remaining on the walls, this should be the right direction." Ultimus paused once he was well away, scanning the somewhat dirtied direction signs on the walls.

Jack twisted and lean out to look around, leaving behind a few smears of red on the mech from her earlier demonstration. She pointed to the right, "That way, and take the next left, we should be back at that maintenance tunnel."

The redhead nodded, heading down the tunnel at a ground-eating trot. He kept an audio and a sensor open for any Big Sisters or packers who might be following them.

There was only distant screaming, and the only thing from one of the elder gatherers was one of their blood curdling shrieks used to stun, other organics at the very least. Jack went back to clinging by reflex, more than once she had been nearly snatched back up by a Big Sister since she had gotten away the first time.

Ultimus wrapped both arms around Jack, his wings flaring out behind him, keeping her behind his heavy armor. Head down like a bull preparing for a charge, he raced down the corridors. All too soon he'd have to stop, or risk running into a window to the outer sea world. To the right of the window was the passage way to Minerva's Den, and the other tunnel leading to another part of Rapture.

The mech skidded sideways, a move that would have broken the ankle of a human, darting into the right-hand tunnel without losing too much speed.

"You need to stop for the key!" Jack yelped, bracing herself and hoping the mech didn't run into the locked door to the maintenance tunnel. Ultimus slammed on the brakes, his boots creating rooster tails of sparks behind him. He twisted sideways, folding one wing to take the impact of against the door on his harder armor, managing to avoid crushing the sensitive wing panel.

After a long moment Jack's voice piped up, "Are we dead?"

"Not at all." There was the suggestion of a grin in Ultimus' earthquake-deep voice. He pushed himself away from the wall, regarding the dent in the shape of his shoulder guard on the wall and the long scrapes he'd left in the metal floor.

The girl squirmed for the mech to let her down, touching the spot on his arm where Ultimus had put the genetic key. "There's a booth other there, that'd have..." Jack paused as the lights in the chamber flickered and then more snapped on, bringing the old, semi abandoned room to full light. Jack winced and covered her glowing eyes, used to the dark.

Ultimus barely blinked at the change in light levels. He loomed behind Jack, scanning the area warily. The girl rubbed her eyes, blinking rapidly and wait the few moments it took the glow to fade back in her eyes, and thus become a little less sensitive. Once she could see right the girl glanced back and held her hands out, "I can do the key."

The compartment in the Cybertronian's forearm slid open. He pulled out the key, handing it to Jack, and then followed her toward the booth she'd indicated before the lights had come up.

Jack squeezed through the jammed door to the control booth, looking over the things before inserting the key, and then pulling the lever that would undo the lockdown. Outside the two door shuddered as they unlocked, the nearer maintenance door cycled open.

Ultimus watched, running sensor sweeps. The opening of the doors might attract unwanted attention.

Jack was just sliding her way out of the booth again when the sounds of running, armored feet was heard. One of the Big Sisters from before came skidding into view, the smallest of the three, she was just spotting Ultimus and made a warble of distress, attempting to slow down to maneuver around him. There was no hostile act in her, she was just running like a bat out of hell. Ultimus reached down, scooping up Jack and darting aside with a speed all out of proportion to his bulk. The Big Sister would have just bounced off his armor, but that didn't mean he liked being bounced off.

A red porthole turned, briefly looking at the mech as she darted past, and into the public passageway. Looking after the two would see that she wasn't alone, in the basket like cage on the back the lanky young teen was that girl Ultimus saw before, limp and out of it.

"...I think we should go."

The mech let out a roar of fury after the Big Sister, letting pretty much everyone in earshot know his opinion of the raids on the pack. Holding Jack close, he began cautiously padding down the newly-opened passageway.

"It's not always their fault," Jack said once the maintenance door closed behind them, "Most I think don't even know what's going on sometimes, like the Little Sisters..."

"Just following orders." There was a growl in Ultimus' voice, his optics blazed in the semi dark as he scanned ahead.

"Or hypnotized," Jack shrugged, looking at the different and exposed 'guts' of the city that weren't hidden behind walls here. The path was sloping down, and soon the floor became stone instead of metal grating and then leveled out.

Ultimus looked around, eyeing the stone. His sensors swept outward, looking for any signs of enemies attempting to creep up. "Hopefully they will be able to break the conditioning."

"That one seemed to have...or nearly." Jack said as she squirmed to be put down again. Sniffing the air and finding it oddly- to her, clean. There was the hum of working machines and, faintly, of what could have been a voice.

The big mech's head came up, optics flashing. He moved forward, shifting into a quieter trot, not wanting to give them away to a potential threat.

"I don't smell any ADAM," Jack said softly, sniffing again and tilting her head as she now heard laughter of a female voice, "Or blood."

"So these voices are some of the few real humans remaining in Rapture." Ultimus rounded a corner, pausing to survey the path ahead. It seemed to lead into a hub, one side tunnel along the way had a hand written sign on a thin plate screwed to the wall. 'The Den - total Nutter that way' was written on it.

Jack squinted at the sign, murmured as she sounded out what it said, "What's a... nutter?"

"It's a rude name for a pea-brain, an idiot, or a person who's gone utterly and completely crazy." Ultimus eyed the sign, and then began padding along the indicated path, making sure to keep close to Jack. As they moved off a faint scent like and unlike Jack's, under the ADAM. The girl was oblivious to it as it was beyond even her altered senses. But it would be good for a note for Ultimus.

Ultimus inhaled deeply, flaring his nostrils to better take in the scent. Air hissed from his vents as he forced out the air in his systems, drawing in a huge breath, analyzing the scents the air carried.

"There's the way down there," Jack pointed, spotting a few more signs that listed instructions of how to go up into Minerva's Dem without triggering 'The Nutter's' traps.

Ultimus drew in one last huge breath, exhaling through the vents on his neck, and his eyes glowed a brilliant yellow. He had to smile slightly as he resumed walking, making careful note of the instructions.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ultra Rodimus' notes: In this chapter we enter the Den and have our first encounter with "the Nutter" Reed Wahl. And we only make his phobia of Big Daddies worse *evil grin*
> 
> Omicron's notes: *giggling* this will be fun XD

Jack shifted and squirmed through the Little sister vent, peeking out honestly to be sure the way was clear. Sniffing, and smelling only the old decaying from of an ADAM rich corpse somewhere nearby, but not a living Splicer. She slid out of the vent, landing in a heap before going over to pull the lever, thus opening the door for Ultimus.

The girl smiled as the door shuddered upwards, "See? I said this would be faster."

Ultimus had transformed briefly to his wolf mode, ears flicking this way and that while he filtered air through his nasal passages, taking in the scents. One portion of his attention was on sifting out any new traces of that other scent, the scent of Jack's family. Padding through the door, he unfolded back to his robot mode, nodding. "It is faster."

Jack smiled, proud of herself of course, and she started off away from service tunnels to the main welcoming hall. She glanced up at hearing an announcement, but shrugged, not interested in it. Ultimus padded after her, carrying his flechette rifle so the barrel rested against his shoulder. Yellow eyes probed the shadows, scanning for the ever-present cameras.

"WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS OF _VALUES!_ "

Jack yelped as she side-jumped away from the vending machine that lit up in the darkness, holding her needle out- paused, blinked, and blushed. "I don't like those things sometimes..."

"They certainly are loud, and obnoxious." Ultimus growled at the thing, a sound that made his own students shiver in their armor.

The girl edged closer, tempted but seeing as there were too many red 'out of...' things on the options she moved away. Only Jack stopped as she started to step on something. She picked up the tape, "A diary."

"Diary?" Ultimus leaned over to look. "So in Rapture diaries are on tape instead of on paper."

Jack held the tape up for him to see, "Well there's old book diaries too, but these can get wet and still play."

Ultimus investigated the tape. "Hmm..."

"It's sometimes fun listening to them," Jack said as she started looking around the dark semi-welcoming hall, not leaving but ended up at the desk with a dormant drone. "Here's another one and," She stood, plopping down a device that seemed a cross of recorder, player and radio all in one.

Ultimus followed her, looking at the thing curiously. "So that thing plays these?"

"Yep!" Jack took the tape she'd nearly stepped on before and inserted it into the player. The girl poked the play button, smiling and then her eyes widened at the voice that spoke.

" _The slugs alone could not provide enough ADAM for serious work._ " A woman's accented voice started, starting annoyed then pleased as she continued. " _But combined with the host... now we have something..._ "

Red eyebrows lifted as the redhead listened. He wondered who this voice belonged to.

" _The slug is embedded in the lining of the host's stomach and after the host 'feeds' we induce regurgitation, and then we have twenty, thirty times yield of usable ADAM. The problem now is the shortage of hosts._ " The woman snorted, somewhere in the back ground a muffled child's voice was heard.

Jack was staring at the recorder, still wide-eyed.

Yellow eyes were starting to glow like molten sulfur as Ultimus listened. This must be the person who had first discovered ADAM, and had first begun taking the young girls, creating the Sisters.

" _Fontaine says, 'Patience, Tenenbaum. Soon the first home for Little Sisters will be open, and that problem will be solved..._ '" She huffed now, and then sighed, only to be interrupted by a girl's voice.

" _Momma Tenenbaum! My belly hurts!_ "

" _Da bucket little one! Da bucket!_ "

The tape clicked off.

Jack fiddled her fingers and spread her hands over her stomach.

Ultimus growled, a deep sound. "I take it that was the person who first started all this?"

"I guess..." Jack said slowly, "I think... I remember her, but I don't know if it was _my_ memory or someone else's."

The big mech growled again, and then picked up the player, stashing it in subspace for later use, when they found more of those recordings.

Jack was quite and still a moment longer before shaking herself, pushing away her memories in a way, "You wanted to see the archives right?"

Ultimus nodded. "Yes." Reaching down, he rubbed her shoulder gently. Jack looked up, a little surprised but smiled before reaching up to grasp his hand (well, two fingers really) and try and pull the mech with her.

"This way!"

Ultimus smiled, allowing himself to be tugged after her. He did make a quick detour to pick up an odd-looking object, detecting an energy charge inside it. Jack slowed once in the main directory chambers of the Den, one massive dome was more like it. Plants were growing on the walls and on decorative pillars as well as the three lone standing 'walls' surrounding a statue of a woman. There was the smell of decaying plants, of fresh water and the glow of bio-luminescent flowers. This part of Rapture was in a night cycle.

"...aaah, over to the left." Jack said after a moment, moving a head of Ultimus to where a sign on the far left of the dome said 'Air-Tight Archives!'

Ultimus raised his head, looking around with interest. Reaching out, he gently touched the petals of a glowing flower. "I know a few people who'd be interested in a plant like this..."

Jack looked back, and then up, "Moon flowers! And slug-likers too!" She said once taking in a few of the different types, coming back over. She looked down and picked up an older, fallen flower like the one Ultimus had touched. She put the handle of her extractor in her mouth and crushed the old flower up, as she did so the plant matter started to glow again. The girl drew a jelly fish on the wall and grinned up at the Autobot.

"They're beautiful." Ultimus carefully probed for the roots of a couple of the out-of-the-way glowing flowers, placing them in subspace. Hopefully they'd transplant well. Grinning at Jack, he dipped a finger in the plant paste and drew a smiley face next to the jellyfish.

The girl giggled, sounding more like her age for the moment as she set the extractor aside and made several handprints, forming a small circle and then drew a stick figure inside with wings. Then she made a hand print on the mech's nearer leg with an impish grin. Ultimus laughed, tapping the very tip of her nose with one finger, leaving a glowing spot. He drew several fish swimming across the wall, then a rough bird and a rainbow.

"What's that?" Jack asked, pausing in making some more of the glowing plant paste, getting it all over her hands, forearms and making little foot prints around.

"It's a rainbow," he answered, projecting a holo-image of a double rainbow arcing across the sky. "Sun shines through raindrops and breaks into colors. They're spectacular to see."

Jack's eyes widened and reflexively latched onto Ultimus' leg at the unexpected colors. Startled but staring in awe, glanced at the glowing colors of the painted rainbow and back up.

"There are even rainbows at night, created by moonlight, but they are paler." Ultimus changed the image to a faint lunar rainbow, an arc of dim colors against the night sky. "They can even be seen as rings around the sun."

"Ooooh lordy." A male voice said from out of sight, on the other side of the wall. A man, mutated but not so extreme was standing staring up at the hologram and holding his hat to his chest.

Ultimus' head snapped around. He padded toward the source of the voice, yellow eyes fixing on the stranger and lips drawing back from wicked fangs. A growl rumbled out of his throat. The partly spliced man didn't seem to notice the Autobot, not at first, staring into the now darkness of the dome. He sighed and put his hat back on, a shotgun was resting on his back and a pistol in a holster. If seen from the front Ultimus would see a tarnished old badge on the front of his jacket.

Jack peeked around the corner, spotted the man, thought better and ducked back to go grab her extractor needle, leaving behind a trail of glowing foot prints.

Ultimus eyed the badge, his growl deepening, claws extending from their sheaths in his fingertips. Yellow optics glowed like sulfur suns in the shadow of his helm's visor. The man jumped at the louder growl, turned to see the Autobot, and the smaller form near his feet and eased back a few steps. "Easy Daddy, ain't gonna get near your lil' one." The man muttered moving away, not making any sudden moves or reaching for his firearms.

"You better not," Ultimus informed the man icily, "Unless you want your guts to be decorating the floors from here to the other side of the city."

Jack gave a giggle from behind Ultimus' leg as the man jumped nearly out of his skin. Fairly sure what he had said was what normal Big Daddies thought when spotting someone too close to their charge.

The redhead leaned down, closer to the man, making sure his wicked fangs were clearly exposed. "Scat."

The once officer did just that, making good distance to a door was on the other side of the dome, leading to 'McClendon Robotics.'

" _The Thinker, it's the most helpful machine in Rapture!_ " the public announcement chirped overhead somewhere as Jack emerged from behind Ultimus and started padding to the archives again, grinning. It was so... nice to feel safe again after so long.

Ultimus let out a roar, making sure the splicer kept running. He padded after Jack, moving with the nearly-silent stride of a predator on the hunt.

"Pretty sure he was going," Jack said as she rubbed her ears.

"Never hurts to make sure they keep running," the big mech pointed out.

"Hurt me'ears." Jack pointed out before spotting the sparking, slightly torn up control panel to the Archives. Making an annoyed sound the girl flexed her fingers of her free hand, mentally summoning her trusty electrobolt plasmid.

Ultimus looked sheepish for a moment. "Sorry about that..." A scrabbling sound in the distance caught his attention, and he glared in its direction.

Jack zapped the shorting panel and the door cycled open, she glanced back up at the mech, "What?"

Gleaming fangs were bared again, "Something's moving around. I can hear it."

The girl listed as well, heard the scuttling, eeped, and scampered off into the way that led to the Archives. By the girl's reaction it was probably a Spider Splicer. Ultimus lifted his rifle, aiming toward the splicer, now well within his scanner range. One quick burst of flechettes sent the splicer's shredded form raining down to the deck.

"Is it gone?" Jack's voice called from the other side of the doorway, partly down the hall and eying the way she'd come.

"It's in several pieces," the big mech replied, eyeing the remains.

Jack emerged from the dark hall, poking her head around the corner and then wavered as she got the full scent of blood and ADAM. She twitched as she struggled to fight off the craving, the want to gather, "Bitty bits."

The redhead waved his rifle. "At least they're less annoying that way."

"Looks almost like what happens when a Bouncer is really mad." Jack edged closer, saw something twitch and skittered back to Ultimus, reaching for his free hand.

"It's just nerve misfire spasms." Ultimus twined his fingers with hers, watching dispassionately as a nearly-severed arm twitched briefly.

"It's scary when dead things move." Jack muttered, tugging on the Autobot's hand to get him away.

"Not like they can do anything, though." Ultimus walked down the corridor, detouring briefly to pick up another of the weird power cells. Jack kept padding along on her bare feet, slowing to peer into a room, hesitating to sniff since she couldn't see in all the way. She wasn't as good as the normal Little Sisters in that just yet. Yellow eyes and the array of sensors built into all Cybertronians probed the shadows. Once or twice Ultimus growled into the shadowy corners, and lurking splicers thought twice about tangling with the big mech.

"Here," Jack patted Ultimus' leg for attention, holding up another audio dairy tape she had found.

Ultimus took it, bringing the player out of subspace. After scanning carefully for any lurkers, he placed the diary in the player.

" _Sure you hear it in Rapture. One of the business types asked me, "Why don't you splice white? Get ahead!" Well, that's some idiocy! I told him, "First of all I AM ahead. Second, in Rapture it's your WORK that's supposed to matter, not your skin!" Too bad for some folks you can't splice in common sense._ "

Jack gave a small giggle at the last few worlds, "You can get memories though." she pointed out, almost completely missing the main part of that audio dairy.

Ultimus rolled his optics. "I will never understand racism... My people come in every color and every combination possible, and we see no problems with it."

"So there's nothing like that where you come from?" Jack tilted her head, walking ahead of the mech again as she started looking for a map.

"No. We come in every color, and at just about any size, from the 7-foot cassettes to the 2,600-foot city-mechs," Ultimus replied. "We're not bothered by color. Some of my people are touchy about their size, but there's no real discrimination."

"Huh..." Jack mulled that over, eyes glowing faintly in the dark, as well as the spots of the bio-luminescence plant matter that were still on her. The girl slowed and stopped, eying the wall to her right and reached up to run her hand over something grime-covered on it, "Map!"

Ultimus blinked, and then followed her over to the wall. "A map?" he echoed.

"There's always one around somewhere," Jack nodded as she tried to reach up and clean the glass so the protected map under was more visible. The big mech pulled out one of the random scraps of fabric he kept in his trailer, using it to wipe away the worst of the grime. He eyed the map, scanning it into his memory.

Jack backed up a bit, eying the map and comparing it to the few memories she had from the den, before it was locked down. "Looks like we need to go somewhere over there," she pointed at a section of the archives, "I think... wow."

That last part was added on as she heard the distinct mournful call, or song, of a Big Daddy. Only this time it seemed a bit louder or deeper than normal, it had Jack looking around as if to spot the Rapture nightmare. Ultimus' head snapped around, the hydraulics in his neck whirring in protest. He glared in the direction the sound had come from, moving to keep himself between the source of the sound and Jack.

"Daddies very rarely will try to take a Sister from another Daddy," Jack pointed out, but it wasn't really a protest as she was half hiding against the mech's leg, and then she gaped as the door some ten feet away that they had been heading to cycled open.

The Big Daddy was like a Rosie in that it was standing upright, only it was taller and with the exception of some barnacles the armor was in near-pristine condition. A cream-ish colored diving suit, silver and copper colored metal that made up armor, helmet and tank. It was taller than its other brethren as well, more than capable of staring Ultimus optic-to-porthole.

"Never hurts to be careful," the Cybertronian responded. Yellow optics flashed as he took in the Big Daddy, "Big bugger."

"Wow," Jack muttered, staring, her eyes glazed over. Her surprise had let what conditioning she had gotten before temporarily take over.

The Lancer Big Daddy was eying Ultimus as it was reloading the odd cannon in its hands, shortening his stride notably but not stopping its march. Though avoiding contact with the Autobot, the Big Daddy took note of Jack, and then as it passed it... crooned?

Ultimus growled back at it, but only watched it pass by, making sure it kept its distance from Jack. He took note of the weapon it carried, his CPU connecting the visible energy crackling in it to the power cells he'd been collecting.

The Big Daddy rumbled as it continued, making a few short 'barks' at Ultimus in return to his growl like he was trying to talk. The Lancer reached up to adjust its tank and before the door closed behind him the Lancer visibly paused to study the glowing paintings Jack and the Autobot had made, mumbling wordlessly.

Ultimus snorted, rumbling in Cybertronian for a moment. He had to smile a bit as he saw the Big Daddy looking at the glowing drawings.

Jack stared at the closed door, oblivious to the world, still in that trance like state. Staring unblinkingly into space without seeing what was around her, at least as how it was, she had a small smile of her own. The big mech looked down at her, tilting his head curiously. Experimentally, he tried out one of the sounds the Big Daddy had been making. Because his voice was so deep already the sounds came out deeper.

Wide yellow eyes turned up to blink at Ultimus, Jacks mouth making a small 'o' of surprised. This time he would be able to see her semi vacant stare, "...Daddy?"

"It's me," the big mech replied carefully, lifting a crimson eyebrow.

Jack blinked a few times, reaching out to put a hand on the wall and blinked again, "...did I fall asleep?" She asked as she came back to herself.

"You went into some kind of trance when you saw that Big Daddy." Ultimus touched her shoulder.

Jack frowned, "I was dreaming." she said slowly, trying to grasp at the warm, safe feeling of the dream.

Ultimus looked at her for a long moment, lifting his eyebrow again. "Dreaming?"

"It was a nice dream," The girl said, "Everything was nicer."

The big redhead shook himself, rattling his armor briefly. "Ah..."

Jack shrugged, not seeing anything wrong from her point of view even if there had been. The girl blinked and looked back up at the map, "Where do you want to go in the archives first?"

Ultimus pondered the map for a moment. "I'd like to know more about Rapture... How it began, and how it fell."

"That would mean finding the section of the city's history section... I think." Jack tilted her head and squinted at the map as she tried to read all that she saw.

"Most likely," Ultimus eyed the map, "Hmm."

"Here?" Jack asked pointing to a large room on the map. "Pub-lic... rrr... records!" Hah! She knew that word!

"Looks like a good place to start." Yellow eyes narrowed as Ultimus looked over the route that led to the indicated area.

Jack nodded, starting off again before pausing and coming back and lifting her arms in a silent plea to be picked up. "Do you think I'm going to have to gather here?"

"That's entirely up to you... I don't need ADAM, so you can gather if you choose to, but I won't make you." Ultimus lifted her, holding her against his chest with one arm. Turning, he headed toward the door.

The girl shifted her harvester needle so not to poke the Autobot or stab herself before Jack settled down against the mech. "I don't think I need anymore... maybe." She frowned, and then sighed since she still had that ADAM craving. Jack knew where it came from, all the ADAM rich blood she had ingested had really 'woken' up the slug in her belly.

The big mech made a soft humming sound as he shifted into a ground-eating trot, moving through the corridors. The speed at which he was moving managed to startle most splicers out of his way, and those who didn't move didn't survive the encounter.

"Look Daddy! Another us!" A little voice said to the side, a Little Sister was pointing at Ultimus from her spot perched on another Lancer's shoulder. Ultimus had to grin at that as he collected another energy cell. Maybe he'd find one of those energy weapons lying around somewhere.

"I bet you could get one of them out of a vent," Jack said, paused to inhale deeply, paused and then added, "Or maybe not, you don't smell right."

"I probably couldn't then," he replied, picking up a slightly different energy cell.

"Unless you got the smelly thing." Jack pointed out, looking at two large portraits on either side of the room they were in, one torn up with green paint scrawling 'TRAITOR' over where the painting had been.

"Smelly thing?" Ultimus blinked. "You mean pheromones?"

The girl concentrated on the word, and then brightened, "Yeah! That's it, a lot of people don't like the Big Daddy's smell, I don't mind. The Little Sisters don't either."

"The scent must be a cue to the Little Sisters," the Cybertronian mused. Yellow eyes brightened as he spotted one of those energy weapons lying abandoned, and he detoured to scoop it up. The inspection of the weapon was interrupted by the sound of footsteps and voices ahead.

"What is it?" Jack asked, peering at the laser cannon, having never seen anything like it. The girl looked up and around as she saw movement of a group of four, one in the lead and muttering to himself. The girl blinked a few times at hearing a new word, "E...quations?"

The lead man looked up as she spoke.

"It's a laser weapon... Fires powerful energy beams. Lasers can burn flesh from bone," Ultimus replied, loading a power cell. Then he turned his attention to the approaching group, narrowing his eyes warily.

The apparent leader, spliced and insane but disturbingly still intelligent eyes were narrowed right back at Ultimus as the man halted. The other splicers going a few steps more before realizing he had stopped, the other man was coming too close while the two women hovered back away as soon as they saw the 'Big Daddy.'

A dangerous growl started somewhere in Ultimus' torso, an audible warning of dire consequences should any of them get too close. The business end of the laser cannon came up to take aim at the group.

The lead man saw the cannon lift and promptly did an about face and full on ran back the way he came, "Fetch me those readings!" he yelled at the other three, and the two women skittering off and away, not bothering to say anything. Ultimus' warning howl chased the group leader down the corridor, before his fiery glare shifted to the fourth member of the group, the one who hadn't fled yet.

Jack gave a hissing sound as the splicer just stood there staring stupidly for a few moments, "...one weird looking Tin Daddy." he muttered, his eyes wide and looking like he hadn't slept in no less than a week.

"And the absolute nastiest one you'll ever come across." Ultimus bared fangs in a savage snarl. "I suggest you run... NOW."

The girl made a face and then couldn't help a little giggle as the Splicer jumped nearly out of his skin at the mech's words, only to yelp as the Splicer yelled something about dogs not barking and lunged at Ultimus.

 _Okay that was stupid_ , Jack thought since most everyone knew never to attack a 'normal' Big Daddy unless desperate.

The laser cannon vanished, and Ultimus' arm shot out like a striking snake. Steel fingers clamped shut on the splicer's skull, catching him right out of the air. Without a pause Ultimus tightened his grip, the splicer's skull imploding from the pressure. Grey matter and blood sprayed up the mech's arm, the body twitching wildly once or twice before going totally limp.

Jack kept her eyes closed and pressed her face against Ultimus' chest. She had seen what just happened to the splicer before, under the heavy foot of a very ticked off Rumbler and a fallen rock in Arcadia. The girl didn't like it and curled up more to try and block out the sound and memories.

Ultimus threw the body aside, shaking some of the goop off his arm. His other arm tightened around Jack ever so slightly, and he made a deep crooning sound in his chest, moving away from the splicer's remains.

"Ew." Jack said, it seemed both an understatement and not. She didn't move on her own right now, sorting her mind out to adapt to another nightmare.

" _What's this that crawls into Minerva's Den?_ " A new voice... no the voice of that one lead splicer from a few minutes before came through overhead speakers.

"None of your business," Ultimus shot back, his deep voice echoing slightly down the corridor.

"Is that a two way line?" Jack whispered, finally peeking up, spotting a camera and watching it track them. "Is that the 'nutter?'" she added

"My guess is, yes, that's the nutter," Ultimus replied, making a rather rude gesture in the direction of the nutter's camera.

"What if that's the Thinker?" Jack couldn't help asking, she sniffed and made a face, "You need a bath now."

"If it's the Thinker, then I look forward to meeting it. If that's the nutter, as long as he stays out of the way I won't have to twist him into a pretzel." Ultimus eyed the camera.

Jack nodded after a moment, looking around but staying curled up in the crook of the mech's arm, keeping away from the other. She looked at the walls, trying to read the signs as the Rapture radio crackled to life again. But the voices seemed distant, that could have been Ice Queen's tone or someone else.

Ultimus straightened, shifting Jack slightly so he could grab the grime-stained piece of cloth and wipe the worst of the gore off his arm before it started to smell. Under his helm one audio plate twitched as he listened.

"That sounds like momma Tenenbaum," Jack said suddenly, both perking up and leery since it sounded like an argument.

"Tenenbaum?" Yellow optics flared. The big Cybertronian padded closer to the camera, eyeing it.

"I thought Doctor Gill said she left the city..." Jack was frowning, trying to scrap together what she heard in that last time of being 'caught.' She looked up at the camera as they neared it, noting the exposed wires and mechanical guts on the side, someone had tried hacking it.

"Maybe she came back for something," Ultimus suggested. He eyed the exposed wires. "It seems like hacking is pretty much a staple of Rapture..."

Jack shrugged, "It's useful if you can... if not, bzzzzzzzzzzzzt." she sparked energy over her fingers to farther display what would happen in a failed hack.

"Wonder what the Thinker thinks of that," the redhead mused. "When I hacked that vending machine you said the Thinker might be offended, but it seems like hacking is very common."

"I don't like people trying to harvest me," Jack said, "I don't think it's the same or how much the Thinker feels... but it seemed like it... I think..." The girl paused, having neatly derailed her metal train of thought all by herself.

Ultimus lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. "Might be something to ask it when we get there." He looked at the camera, tilting his head at the garbled voices. "Unless whoever's talking has something intelligent to say, please stop babbling. It's distracting."

"Isn't that coming from the radio not the camera?" Jack pointed out, leaning forward to locate where it was, "It's probably not set to the right channel, or just picking up another one."

The mech frowned, picking up the radio. He turned the tuning dial slowly, listening to the various channels.

" _Maria!_ " the name came from one channel, startling Jack as the voice had that distinct metallic like tone of a gatherer, though more mature.

" _I'm coming Marsha, stall the Family._ " That sounded like that one Big Sister before.

"They used the radio too?" Jack blinked, but Tenenbaum's voice wasn't there.

"Apparently." Ultimus eyed the thing, then slowly turned the dial again, wondering what else the radio would pick up. Jack listened, paused and blushed as she eeped, putting her hands over her ears to stop listening to the husky voices of splicer lovers that forgot their radio was on.

"Eeeewwwwww!"

Ultimus rolled his optics, making a disgusted and rude sound into the radio before again moving the dial.

" _Gross_." Jack scrunched up her face, and eyed the radio with distrust, but relaxed as a song she knew was the next thing to come on. The redhead made a face, then tilted his head at the music. He resumed walking, heading down the corridor, keeping his sensors open for danger. "Must be the music station?" Jack guessed, setting back into Ultimus' hold as she hummed softly along with the music.

"I'm surprised there's one still working." He hummed softly as he walked, shifting the radio to the other hand and bringing the laser cannon back out of subspace.

"I think that's the place!" Jack pointed, leaning forward again, "If the screens are still working, we can get to all the records."

Ultimus looked in that direction, then headed toward the indicated door. He scanned carefully, then stepped inside. It looked like a cross of office and library back room for sorting. Jack was debating on trying to get down, but decided against it as she pointed at a bookcase, thinking of the barricade they had used back in her family's apartment. Nodding his understanding, Ultimus put his shoulder to the bookcase, shoving it across the door, stepping back, he looked around.

Jack sniffed, and now feeling safe she squirmed to be put down. Promptly getting into the cupboards on one side of the room, generally being nosy and seeing what she could. She came up for air with the Rapture equivalent of a twinky.

Ultimus chuckled as he began browsing through the contents of the shelves. His optics flicked over the files, speed-reading as only a machine could.

Jack looked over from where she was shaking a sealed thermos like bottle, "That computer looks like it'll work." She said, only to be distracted as the girl spotted the plasmid bottle over by the window. Jack eyed it in both interest and distrust, for it was a murky purple/black color.

The redhead nodded, moving toward the computer. Noticing her reaction, he paused, turning to look at the plasmid. Sidling over, he inspected the bottle carefully. "'Gravity Well'?" he read from the side.

"...never heard of..." Jack paused as her memories tugged softly on her mind, "I think..." No wait she did, it was in her ADAM given memories not her own.

"There must be something about it in the system." Ultimus turned back to the computer, looking it up. "Huh. Creates a gravity field, like a tiny black hole."

"Wouldn't it be a purple hole?" Jack pointed out, gently shaking the plasmids container and peering in at the thick fluid inside. It was a dark purple color so it made sense to the 12 year old mind.

"They're called black holes because not even light can get out, so they can't be seen. You can feel the pull but you can't see the source." Ultimus shrugged.

"...a nothing hole." Jack dubbed, putting the plasmid jar back where it was before and came back to see what Ultimus was doing.

"Pretty much," Ultimus replied, paging through the information on the screen. Every now and then he'd look up, scanning for danger. Other than seeing glimpses of splicers beyond the glass observing window, there wasn't much at the moment. Thought not the safest place in the city [and surprisingly there _were_ safe places in Rapture] it would do.

Eventually Jack had parked herself near the far back wall with a small can of paint, or a massive can of white out and was busying herself painting graffiti. However there were soon sounds of something moving behind the wall nearer Ultimus. There was such a high concentration of ADAM that it was either the world's smallest spider splicer, or a gatherer.

Ultimus looked up as the ADAM registered on his sensors, turning to look in the direction from which it came.

"Oof!" The semi word was muffled but came in from a vent that was higher than normal and not as decorated, just framed by bronze 'leaves.' The sound of sniffles and a slight whimper was heard, young enough to clearly hint at who was there. Two glowing eyes were blinking back at him, drawing back at first, startled, and then, "Mr. Bubbles...?"

The redhead blinked, and then got up, straightening to his full height and peering into the vent. "I think you got the wrong vent," he told her, blinking.

"But you're here." The girl said coming closer and poked her head out of the vent. She sniffed the air, the girl herself smelling of ADAM and blood and oddly plant matter. "You smell funny Mr. B."

Ultimus blinked again. "I don't smell anything like a Big Daddy."

"I think that's the point," Jack piped up from behind, at the same time the Little Sister leaned out of her vent to look around and brightened at seeing the other girl.

"Sister!" The younger blond cried and then shifted, planning on half hopping, half sliding out to Ultimus still thinking he was a Big Daddy, and thus knowing that Daddy always caught her.

The mech squawked in surprise, catching her reflexively. The confused Cybertronian looked at Jack, baffled.

Jack was giggling along with the Little Sister, "Thank you Daddy!" The younger girl said throwing her arms around Ultimus' neck and hugging him as best she could.

Ultimus stiffened for a moment, his expression remarkably similar to that of a deer in the headlights. "Uhm..."

"You're forgiven for smelling funny Mr. Bubbles." Jack said between giggling, committing her new guardian's face to memory.

The redhead sighed. "Oh boy..." The Little Sister snuggled against him for a few more moments before starting wiggle in that universal way of children that wanted down. Ultimus slowly set her down, watching the newcomer cautiously.

The Little Sister brushed at her dress, more smoothing it out rather than any hope of getting the massive blood stain off the front. Then wide yellow on yellow eyes turned up to regard Ultimus just like she would have any Big Daddy, with that raw love and admiration and, yes, some awe. Smiling the Little Sister turned and skipped- yes skipped over to glomp onto Jack, oddly she didn't have a gatherer's needle with her.

Seeing that, the big redhead couldn't help laughing. Shaking his head slightly, he sat back down at the computer, keeping an audio on the pair. This wasn't the first time Jack had played with a Little Sister, hell she had pretended to be one when younger so to have the Big Daddy protection. Between the two of them, Jack and Cindy were well on their way to making a random masterpiece of white paintings. After a bit they unearthed colored markers too.

All and all, it was a perfect break from reality for both.

Ultimus watched for a long moment before going back to the computer, going through the files. It seemed he'd be the first "Big Daddy" in Rapture to be carrying two Little Sisters at the same time.

"...I miss my other daddy too sometimes." Cindy's voice said after a bit, "But it's okay, Big Sister takes things to him whenever she goes up-up." The girl motioned upwards with both hands.

Jack frown a moment, "Big Sister go to the surface for you?"

"Uh-huh..." Cindy paused, memories warring with her conditioning.

Hearing that, Ultimus looked up from the monitor, scarlet brows meeting over the bridge of his nose.

"I think... I think..." Cindy paused, twitching a little, "I see stars in my dreams." she finally got out around her conditioning and then sighed, shrugging.

"So she was kidnapped from the surface," the Cybertronian murmured.

Jack glanced over at him and then offered the red marker to the younger girl. Cindy took it happily and started to scribble it over the person-figure that had been drawn on the floor already. "Roses grow tall and sun smells of honey... that's where Angels fall." she muttered, Jack nodded agreement as she understood what the Little Sister's seemingly random words were about.

Ultimus lifted an eyebrow as he tried to puzzle that out. Apparently true Little Sisters saw Rapture differently than everybody else did.

"Daddy look!" Cindy announced after a little while coming right over and trying to climb up into his lap, "An Angel!" she pointed to the drawing she had worked on. It was both childish, and in some ways advanced. And a little disturbing, it was of a body laying down, 'X's in place of eyes to show the dead-ness, as well as a lot of red, but in the supposed blood was sketches of roses, and the white paint had been used to make wings and a halo.

Ultimus blinked at the drawings, studying it. It confirmed his thought that Little Sisters saw Rapture differently; it probably had something to do with the conditioning they went through, "Very pretty."

The Little Sister beamed, pleased to no end at his praise, and not seeming to notice that he was, you know, _talking_. In truth the bond between a Little Sister and Big Daddy was empathic and sometimes near telepathic depending on the 'generation.' So to hear words wasn't as big a surprise to her, and thus with his apparent approval of her work, Cindy wrapped her arms around him as best as she could.

Awkwardly, Ultimus returned the hug, blinking at her. It was the first time that anyone who'd mistaken him for a Big Daddy hadn't been weirded out by the fact that he could talk. Jack giggled from her spot drawing out a squid, grinning at his look. Cindy was back into another random bout of snuggling up to the mech.

Ultimus looked slightly lost, not used to being clung to so eagerly. Where he came from, even in his human form people avoided him, both for his size and his strangeness. He was used to being looked at askance or avoided, for the most part.

"Always safe with Daddy," Cindy muttered happily, smiling up at him, all trusting child. The mech returned the smile hesitantly, fangs glinting for a moment before he quickly covered them again. The girl stood in his lap, balancing with one of her hands on his chest and _reaching_ up to touch his chin.

Ultimus tilted his head, his optics glowing a warm yellow (looking oddly like Big Daddy helmet portholes and no doubt confusing many a splicer) as he watched her. The girl was half climbing up on him, her fingers brushing over the smooth metal, a slightly confused look coming across her face. But then she seemed to rapidly adapt and tried to hug him again, giggled and moved to hop down. Ultimus chuckled, returning the hug before helping her down to the floor.

"Daddy..." Jack muttered under her breath before being caught up in the energy that Cindy had and soon the two were in something that was like a reversed game of tag, despite that Jack was older. The way they could shut out and ignore the nightmares of Rapture was perhaps a blessing, more so for the Little Sisters.

The redhead glanced at his screen once more, then decided it could wait a bit. Turning the chair away from the desk, he settled back to watch the two playing.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ultra Rodimus' note: In this chapter we learn that Big Daddies, even alien ones, have a tendency to attract Little Sisters whether they mean to or not. We also learn that kids will be kids, ADAM slugs or no ADAM slugs.

For the first time in the last few hours, Cindy yawned widely from in her new spot within Ultimus' arms. The yawn was promptly transferred over to Jack who was back up on the Autobot's shoulder. "I'm tired Daddy," Cindy said, "Dream time..."

"M'tired too." Jack put in, "Can we go to that safe place yet?"

"Almost there." Ultimus was moving at a quick but smooth pace, heading to the place he'd discovered in the system, a place where the splicers couldn't get at the girls. A few more turns and he could see the door ahead, slowing down and approaching it.

Above the door was a camera, but one that was safely in the wall not on it, and a voice sensor near as well. According to some information gathered, this was one of those cameras that only the Thinker could control.

Yellow eyes looked up at the camera. Ultimus tilted his head to the side in a clearly questioning manner as he approached the door, asking in Cybertronian if they could enter. There was a pause, and then the sound of the locked door unbolted, and shifted. Ready to cycle open as the mech approached, but would re-bolt as soon as he was passed.

Ultimus nodded to the camera, thanking the Thinker in Cybertronian. He passed through the door, pausing to look around before finding a place to settle down.

Another yawn came from the blond, "Daddy?" She patted his chest for attention, "You passed the hidey-hole."

"There will be others," the mech replied, finding a sheltered spot and sitting down, leaning his back against the wall. He settled the two girls on his lap, one on each side, against his chestplate. Jack squirmed off to take a look around, having to be sure and Cindy was suddenly wide-eyed and looking about to cry.

"Daddy's not hurt!" Jack said quickly, knowing what was about to happen, and with the Little Sister around it was easier to keep calling Ultimus 'Daddy' so not to confuse her.

"Daddy's just resting," Ultimus rumbled, going along with it. "Even Daddy gets tired and needs to rest." He pulled out a cloak or sheet of thick, coarse greyish fur from subspace, the hide of some Transorganic he'd killed a long time ago, draping it over his shoulders and arms so it created cozy "dens" against his sides.

"But-but this isn't Daddy's bay, it's not..." Cindy sniffed and gave a half formed sob, clutching tightly to Ultimus like a lifeline as she looked around. It took a moment for her to sniff again and waver, confused. "...Momma Tenenbaum?"

"I'm a different Daddy," Ultimus told her. "I'm not hurt. Everything's all right."

Jack tugged on Ultimus' hand and pointed to a doorless frame that lead to another room, one where the edge of a bed was just visible. "Maybe if you're not on the floor she'll feel better?"

Besides, Jack didn't like sleeping on the floor if she could help it somehow (and Ultimus was softer to cuddle up to when he wasn't all metal).

The mech snorted, rising to his feet and trotting over to the bed. Settling onto it, he stretched out on his side, changing to his more human form and peeling off his chestplate and back plate. Shedding one gauntlet, he gently reached out to very lightly tap Cindy on the tip of the nose.

She latched onto him again without hesitation, clutching and then moving to snuggle up against him. For now oblivious to his more human looking... human-ish state. Jack climbed up, grinning before moving to join in the snuggling, pulling a slightly dusty quilt with her.

Ultimus let both settle against him, wrapping the warm, thick fur around them. He yawned once, and then put his head down. Within a minute, no more, both Jack and Cindy were soon limp in sleep. Like the 'night' before, they didn't move much, partly that the girls were exhausted and partly a Rapture learned trick of playing dead when sleeping.

The redhead followed them into slumber, his own body demanding rest. Part of him was still listening, just in case.

Sometime later, it could have been an hour or ten minutes, but there was the sound of slowly padding feet. Not long after that yellow glowing eyes peeked around the open doorway, blinking. Ultimus lifted one eyelid slightly, his own eye still glowing slightly in the dark. Yawning, he resettled, checking on the two girls curled into his chest.

It wasn't two, though granted the warmth from Cindy's 'side' was a bit more but at the same time the now two Little Sisters where right next to each other. Little Sisters could be very quiet.

Smiling slightly to himself, Ultimus put his head back down, one pointed ear twitching slightly. He was still listening, even as he dozed.

It was probably nearing the middle of the night, and somehow Ultimus now had a few more bundles happily flopped on him, that another form hovered in the doorway, like the first Little Sister had. Wavering as if not sure she should attempt... but gave into temptation. When Ultimus did fully wake up, the slightly too thin 15 year old was grasping his left hand and dozing, unlike the younger gatherers, even Jack, her own left arm had an attachment. A metal thing was dug into the arm to attach to the bone under. Flesh had healed around and in it, and a 'tube' in the middle, but it was not a pleasant thing to find on a youth.

It took a while for the redhead to completely wake up. Blinking, he raised both eyebrows at the tangle of small bodies piled on top of him. The oldest of the group caught his eye, and he frowned as he saw the attachment on her arm.

The teen was the only one moving now and then, twitching her legs and tightening her grip on the human formed Autobot's hand. A few times if Ultimus watched he'd see that sign of healing, the pulse of yellow veins through the skin where the dug in attachment was.

Yellow eyes narrowed as the human mech looked closer. He eyed those yellow veins, wondering what had happened to this girl.

The old 'Little' Sister slowly starting migrating closer to Ultimus, clearly wanting to the same comfort and was working up the nerve to try and work into the snuggle-pile. As long as she didn't mean any harm, Ultimus had no problem with letting her join the group. Closing his eyes, he settled down, and just listened.

Waking was sudden, at least for Cindy as the girl snapped her eyes open and bolted up right, pushing a Sister off her, climbing over Ultimus' chest- fall off the bed and rush to a large kitchen pot that one of the Little Sisters had found and pulled in just for this reason.

Cindy almost didn't make it in time to regurgitate the ADAM into the pot.

The human mech watched her, too buried to move. He did keep her spot open for when she came back, though.

The blond didn't move for a minute, waiting to see if she had to up-chuck a second time. But after everything settled she wandered back, only to get distracted by a cabinet and start investigating it.

Ultimus waited patiently, his eyes glowing a soft yellow. Yawning, he adjusted his position slightly, freeing his arm before it started to cramp.

A black haired girl jerked up after a bit in much the same way looking around, almost the same time Cindy was finally climbing back up.

The redhead shifted again, managing to work one hand through the tangle of bodies to the edge of the bed, calling an empty bucket from subspace and placing it on the floor. Good thing he kept a stack of them in his trailer.

One by one each of the five girls had to do this, Jack included though she was last and didn't have nearly as much raw ADAM. Her slug still able to make the stuff though from the 'leftovers.' The sixth and last one, the teen was the only one not having to do so, however this also meant the girls were very soon wide awake.

Ultimus stirred slightly under the pile, raising his head to look at the small forms piled on him. He yawned, fangs glinting, before stretching as much as the pile allowed and settling back down.

"Daddy has dream time too," a brunette giggled, balancing on Ultimus' chest to peer into his face.

"Even Daddies have to rest, if we want to do our best keeping little girls safe," the human mech pointed out, chuckling. Shy smiles answered him, and one girl- no older than six maybe, reached over to tug at the dress of the bigger Jack.

M'mm hungry...?" she said tiredly.

Jack blinked, startled but looked to Ultimus as she knew he had the food.

Ultimus stretched out his arm again, this time calling out the small heap of canned goods he'd stashed in his trailer, some fresh water, and a can opener. He was in too awkward a position to use a knife to open the cans, and he'd rather not give a sharp weapon to the girls lest they injure themselves with it

The 12 year old was the only one, to stay next to Ultimus (excluding the still sleeping teen) once a can was passed to each girl. The Little Sisters more than happy to find a spot off the bed to munch down. This left the human formed Autobot to finally sit up and, you know, breath.

Ultimus looked human but was still not human; his chest muscles were strong enough for him to draw a full breath even under a pile of bodies. He watched as the food was distributed.

A few ate in that same 'I may not get to eat again' way that the mech's charge had the first time in his trailer. It took a second helping until some realized that there was in fact clean water too. Jack yawned, and then tensed a bit as she at last saw the teen on the other side of the bed- still clutching Ultimus' hand, or rather arm at this point.

Ultimus lifted an eyebrow. "She doesn't seem to mean any harm."

"Big Sister is running away." One of the girls piped up, and then giggled, "Won't tell though!"

"She's a Big Sister?" The other eyebrow lifted. "Huh. Must be a young one."

"She doesn't have the harvester... big needle thing attached." Jack pointed out, lifting and pointing her left forearm and then to the supposed Big Sister

"So that's what that thing in her arm is for." Ultimus frowned at it. "It looks painful."

The base was firmly attached, locked to the bone so to get full strength or more likely to keep it steady since the extractor until would be plugged into it, and the base into her artery, allowing some protection to the direct absorption of ADAM.

"Big Sister don't like it," Cindy said from the side of the bed, clutching blanket and fur, she shivered, "They really don't. Marsha said it's how they learn the big scream."

"My people could remove that, without causing more damage. And it would be gone." The redhead continued to study the thing.

"I wouldn't try unless she's um..." Jack paused, unsure of the mental state of a converting Sister. Once they were Big Sisters they seemed somewhat stable, but it was always the younger ones that picked fights the fastest... or just freaked out over something they didn't like.

"I myself can't do it; I'm a warrior, not a medic. But First Aid or Medic Alert could," Ultimus replied.

"If you can get her to hold still." Jack added, and smiled a little. The teen really didn't seem interested in anything other than, well, sleeping. Like a normal teenager.

Ultimus chuckled. "Wouldn't be a problem."

Jack gave him a look that said she didn't believe that. Ultimus had yet to see a true berserking Big Sister, only that one stressed one in the massive attack. Right now though, the girl was tackled by two Little Sisters.

The human mech lifted an eyebrow, watching the three. Shifting to a more comfortable position, he looked over the group of Sisters. Cindy darted around the bed, attracted by the impromptu game that was starting to form, while the other was climbing back up. Having been that last to get rid of her extra ADAM, and last to eat, she crawled over and curled up again Ultimus' side.

Ultimus smiled at her, looking around to be sure they were still splicer-free before turning his attention back to the girls.

"Daddy come play!" Cindy called as she hopped up, holding Jack's gatherer's needle, grinned and ran off out of the room to the rest of the dock.

"Hey!" the 12 year old yelped hopping up and running after, "That's mine!"

"Mine now!"

Ultimus shook his head, doing his best impression of a Big Daddy's roar and putting a note of "get your tails back here!" into it.

That only made a burst of giggles from the three that ran out, the fourth that was still by the bed ducked her head. Peeking back over the edge of the bed, the black haired child smiled shyly. Despite the roar, none of the girls were scared of it, even the teen didn't move that much and was still clinging to sleep.

The human mech groaned. "Kids..."

The shy child, looking to be the youngest and the first one to wander in last night, she giggled softly before ducking down out of sight. Crawling under the bed to the other side.

"Mr. Bubbles?" The Sister that was back for cuddles looked up, tugging on Ultimus' shirt for attention.

Yellow eyes turned toward the speaker. "Yes?"

The girl edged up closer to wrap her arms around, or over the human formed mech's chest, hiding her face on the base of his neck, "I'm so happy you're all better now."

The mech blinked, "Better?"

She nodded, "I thought you were going to be an Angel, and those monsters chased me- but you're all better now!"

Ultimus blinked again, then realized that the girl's Big Daddy had been severely wounded or killed by splicers. Carefully, he hugged her back.

"My belly still hurts..." The girl added, squirming after a few moments of trying to enjoy the feeling of the hug. "I don't think I can get back to Momma Tenenbaum..."

"Tenenbaum?" Ultimus slowly sat up, careful not to disturb the sleeping Big Sister. "I have heard of Tenenbaum. Where is she?"

"In a safe place," The youngest Little Sister said, now on the other side of the bed, a shiny crystal she had found under it. She pulled herself up, flopping gracelessly on the teen's side, "But it's a hidden-secret from the Family, don't tell Daddy."

"I do not serve the Family." Ultimus' voice carried a note of iron. "Any splicer who gets in my way does not survive the encounter. No one controls me."

The two girls blinked up at him, not quite getting it, too young and with the conditioning they were blissfully oblivious to the fate of the Big Daddies. As far as most Little Sisters were concerned their protectors where guarding them out of love only.

"The Family does not tell me what to do." Ultimus' eyes glowed from within, pupils narrowing to slits.

"So you won't tell?" The younger girl guessed after a moment, and smiled.

"I will not tell." Ultimus nodded. "No one will find out from me."

Both girls smiled, the back haired one shifting off Ultimus as she rubbed over her bloody and torn purple dress. Unlike most she didn't have that scarf or apron like addition, "Momma Tenenbaum is nice, Big Sister likes her more too."

"I have yet to meet Tenenbaum," the redheaded human mech admitted.

"We can tell!" The younger child said, sitting on the teen's side, and giggling as the older gatherer made a face and hid her head under a part of the blankets in typical teenager fashion of trying to ignore siblings. "She helping Eleanor's Daddy find her!"

"Eleanor?" Ultimus blinked. "Huh."

"She's trapped," The black haired girl nodded to add to her words, "But her Daddy's coming to find her and save her! Like you do for me! And Katie's daddy!" she pointed to the younger girl.

Ultimus' lip curled to reveal his fangs. "Trapped. I hope her Daddy teaches whoever's holding her a lesson they won't soon forget."

"I like him," Katie said, smiling as she was the only one here that had been escorted and protected by the old Big Daddy, "He's nice."

Yellow eyes brightened. "I doubt I'll ever meet him, but I hope he gives Eleanor's captor the ass-kicking of their lives."

"She says he will!" Katie assured as she migrated over to the human formed mech.

The Cybertronian gave a wicked smile. "Hope he does." He yawned, stretching until his back popped.

A mock scream from one of the other girls came outside the room, followed by running that came close again. There was a splash, fallowed but a chorused, "Awww..."

Ultimus had to snort at that. "Sounds like somebody just got wet..."

There was a beat pause and then Cindy's voice drifted back, "Daaaaaaaaaaaaddyyy!"

The Cybertronian carefully extracted himself from the pile, carefully shifting the sleeping teenager onto the bed and letting her curl up in the fur cloak. He padded to the door, pausing to survey the scene.

Jack, Cindy, and the red head Little Sister were all the way on the other side of this area, over to the dock and peering over the railing before looking back at Ultimus. Jack and Cindy pointed down as the third girl spoke, "It fell!" The two Sisters waited expectantly as Jack leaned farther out.

Ultimus joined them, leaning over to look down into the water. A ball was bobbing on the surface of the water, well out of the children's reach. Though that didn't stop Jack from starting to try and get it, moving to duck between the rails.

The redhead caught her, gently pulling her back. "I'll get it. I've got a longer reach." He stepped over the rails, diving into the water. Quickly, he retrieved the ball, then began climbing out again.

"Mr. Bubbles!"

"Biiiiiig splash."

"Yay! ...it's cold."

"Yep." Jack agreed as she tried to shake most of the saltwater off herself.

Ultimus pulled himself out of the water, carrying the ball. "Here it is."

Cindy bounced over first, hugging his leg, made a face at the wet-ness but held her arms out for the ball, "Thanks you Sir. Bubbles!" She said giggling again.

Ultimus gave her the ball, then untied his red hair and began wringing out the water. Cindy was running off again, Jack after but had given a, "Thank you!" before doing so. Katie emerged to join in whatever game they were playing, leaving Ultimus with a wide-eyed Little Sister who pointed up at him.

"Mr. B!" She sounded a little accusing, "You're like me!" The girl reached to touch her own red hair.

"Red hair and yellow eyes," the Cybertronian agreed, chuckling. "My skin's darker, though."

The gatherer looked down to eye her hands and arms, taking note of her own gray-tinted and general pale completion. Then back up at Ultimus, blinking. "...huh..."

Ultimus indicated the deep bronzed tan of his skin. "I'm darker. Comes from sun exposure."

"...what's sun ex...pose?" The girl asked slowly, sounding out the new word, like Jack she was born in the underwater city.

"I have been on the surface. I have seen the sun." Yellow eyes glowed brightly.

"What's a sun though?" The Little Sister asked as she came closer, eyes on Ultimus' hair, given the chance she looked like she'd grab it.

"A great ball of light that gives heat and light to the surface." The Cybertronian pulled out a datapad, projecting an image onto the ceiling. It was an image of a clear blue sky, the sun high overhead.

The game to the side stopped, all attention drawn to the projection, even Jack. All staring in confusion, interest, awe, and in Cindy's case slow recognition. The ball bounced and rolled away to the dock again, bouncing down some stairs to what was a mini-sub.

"...pretty..." Katie murmured.

Ultimus pressed another control on the datapad. Fluffy white clouds began to drift across the image.

"I... I remember this..." Cindy spoke softly, reaching out to grasp at Jack's nearer hand as the blonde's little brow crumbled in a confused frown. "I think."

"You must have been taken from the surface." Ultimus looked at her.

The girl blink back at him, getting a that same dazed, not really here, look that Jack had gotten the day before. The older 12 year old look over at the Autobot and back, "Conditioning taking over? Cindy?" She added, worried as the blond was starting to cry.

Ultimus hesitated, looking at the younger girl with some worry.

The child suddenly burst into tears, hiccupping in her sobs as if she had just lost her protector- a heartbreaking sight that the mech had yet to see. Cindy managed to gasp out, "I miss my daddy and, and...!" for some reason the word 'Mommy' wasn't coming out, as if caught up in her mental conditioning.

The human mech knelt down, hugging the child. "It'll be okay," he murmured softly.

"But he doesn't know where the light house is!" Cindy insisted, grasping Ultimus' shirt, "Big Sister can't find him either!"

The Cybertronian made a soft humming noise, gently stroking her back. "It'll be okay," he whispered again.

"But she can't find him..." Cindy sniffed, slowly those sobs from before dying out, behind her Jack and the other girls were edging closer.

Knowing what he did of human parents, Ultimus had no doubt that the girl's father had followed her captors out into the ocean, either finding the lighthouse and the city below or being lost at sea. But he didn't want to say that. Instead, he began to croon softly.

Little Katie put her hands on Ultimus' leg and pulled herself up onto it before half falling on, half hugging Cindy from the side. Jack within reach as she moved to help comfort as well.

The big redhead shifted his arm slightly to give Katie more room, but did not let go. He continued to hum or croon a soft melody, as much felt as heard due to the depth of his voice.

The croon seemed to be doing the trick as the stressed Cindy started to relax against him, and soon Ultimus would find himself with both Jack and Katie leaning on him as much as hugging the blond Little Sister. The other two girls coming over as well as if drawn in.

The redhead smiled to himself, but didn't end the crooning. He stayed almost perfectly still, stroking the blond girl's back gently.

Cindy blinked up at the human formed Autobot slowly, that somewhat glazed look was back, but she seemed to be calmed down again before snuggling up to Ultimus.

Ultimus smiled gently, continuing to croon. At least she'd calmed down; he hated seeing a child in distress.

"...Daddy I'm hungry again." One of the girls piped up.

The redhead snorted, standing up without letting go of any of the girls, easily carrying them back into the other room. Placing them down on the bed, he brought out more of the stash of food he'd picked up, using a knife to open cans for the girls. "Here you go."

Cindy seemed to be back to normal as she happily drank the pear juice first, shamelessly sitting on the teen along with the youngest Little Sister. Jack moved to be closer to Ultimus, reaching for his hand with her free one. Ultimus twined his fingers with Jack's, his yellow eyes meeting hers. Looking back at the others, he had to laugh as he noticed the two sitting on the sleeping Big Sister.

"She said a Big Sister couldn't find her... father." Jack muttered so not to upset the younger girls again, frowning in confusion.

"If she meant her real father, not her Big Daddy, there is a chance he may be here already," Ultimus rumbled back, very softly. "Human fathers are very protective; I would not put it past him to search until he found the lighthouse and the bathysphere."

Jack grew quiet as she digested his world, frowning a little more before taking a bite of her squid, only to yelp at the spice of it.

Ultimus blinked at the yelp, then fished around in his subspace for a long moment before finding half a loaf of bread that had been left by one of the humans he'd run a long-haul trip with. It had been in his cab rather than his trailer. Unwrapping it, he offered Jack a piece. "This will help take away the burn."

The girl pounced on the offered bread, the can put down to balance hazardously on the bed as she did so, glaring at the laughter from the other Little Sisters.

"ADAM helps!" The youngest pitched in, pointing to the bucket.

"I would bet this tastes better." Ultimus waved the bread in their direction.

"Lollies are best!" The red haired girl announced after finishing off her can, licking her lips and crawling over to the human formed transformer.

Ultimus looked amused by that. "I'll have to restock on candy."

More than one girl giggled, smiling up at him from their different spots, Jack pausing her munching to do so as well. Katie sniffed, looking around. She eyed the bucket of ADAM and then tugged at her hair as she thought about if it would be worth making more ADAM with what was here or going back to the task of gathering.

The redhead glanced at the buckets of ADAM, but seemed completely disinterested in the green stuff. He had never touched the stuff at all since finding himself in Rapture. At the moment it was probably a good thing. Not that raw ADAM was the most 'healthy' of things to have that wasn't treated.

Jack slid off the bed and tugged at the human formed mech's hand, Katie grasped onto his other fingers, "Come play with us?"

Ultimus tilted his head slightly. "Play?"

"Yeah!" Jack nodded, smiling as she let herself be the child she still was. "Cindy, Allie come on." The blond hopped down but Allie shook her head, still not feeling well.

The redhead grinned, showing a glint of fang as he did so. Rising to his feet, he allowed himself to be tugged after them.

"Hop-y!" Katie announced as she let go long enough to run ahead and look for something to draw with.

"Hop-scotch!" Cindy corrected, her grief from earlier gone.

"I've never played that," Ultimus admitted. He watched Katie curiously; chalk was one thing he did not carry in his trailer (he also did NOT have a kitchen sink in there; people had asked).

The girl came up with a red marker, and between her and Cindy they started drawing out the needed pattern as Jack paused to pick up a few rocks. Ultimus watched with curiosity. He'd seen young humans playing this game before, but had never learned the rules or anything about the game.

Cindy stopped to look up at Ultimus, then down to his feet, and back to what she was making, hesitating, "I think it needs to be bigger for Daddy..."

Ultimus chuckled. "Probably... 'Small' is one descriptive that can never be applied to me."

After a moment the two girls made another pattern giggling that they had two now. "Watch Daddy!" Katie said as she took a rock, little tossing it on the smaller pattern. She hopped onto it, balancing on one foot for a moment and with an effort hopped over the square the rock was on.

The redhead watched with interest. He looked at the larger pattern considering before returning his attention to the girls.

The game was a little pointless it seemed, but it helped with balance as the girl hoped, alternating one foot down on each single square. On her return trip she wavered a little on one foot as Katie bent to pick up the rock and a few hops later landed with a, "Ta-da!"

"Is that how it's played?" Yellow eyes blinked.

"Yeah!" the young Katie nodded, "Cindy knows all the songs though..."

Ultimus made a face. "Don't ask me to sing, please... I can hum, I can croon, but I cannot carry a tune in a cargo ship."

"Marsha can't sing either," Cindy grinned, tossing her rock and chanting out a song that wasn't exactly the classic, seeming more for the underwater world the girls lived in.

The Cybertronian made a more exaggerated face. "You haven't heard my attempts."

Jack was grinning, "Then speak hum it!" She suggested waiting for her turn.

Ultimus sighed. He was quite a good singer in his own language, but in English, not so much. Other people claimed he sounded quite good, but in his opinion he wasn't much of a singer in human languages.

Jack was hopping out next, chanting softly herself and with each hop to a word, "Walls of the city, hop hop to the Angels. Daddy and Big Sister come find us."

Yellow eyes brightened slightly at the cadence. He could adapt it to Cybertronian, or at least something similar.

Like Cindy, Jack's return trip had another song, and then after her own 'tada!' Then all three girls looked up and grinned at Ultimus. "Your turn Daddy!"

The redhead eyed the patterns, then heaved a sigh and selected a rock. He tossed it onto the pattern, watching where it landed, then hopped, feeling very awkward. His song/chant was in Cybertronian, the syllables flowing off his tongue, mimicking as closely as he could the cadences of the girls' chants.

"Wrong song!"

"Gotta do it again Daddy!"

"Yeah!"

Ultimus grinned. "How do you know it was the wrong song? I speak a different language, so I translated it into my own language. It only sounds different to you."

Jack hesitated, considering that but Cindy and Katie eyed the man with their glowing eyes. Cindy puffed up her cheeks, "Daaaaaaaaaady!"

The redhead rolled yellow eyes. He repeated his Cybertronian chant, then translated it into English to prove it was the same one they'd been using. Jack was in a full on giggle fit, the mental images of one of the Little Sister trying to teach a true Big Daddy to do this same thing. Knowing that somewhere there would be a semi-successful girl because the Big Daddies outright spoiled their charges at times.

Ultimus looked over at Jack, sticking his tongue out at her before returning his attention to the pattern. That only seem to encourage her as Jack plopped down, still laughing. It seemed contagious as the other two were starting giggle as well. The Cybertronian looked from one to the other, then sighed and waited for them to stop giggling.

"Daddy was dancing!" Katie announced grinning and hopping over wrapped her arms around Ultimus' near leg.

Ultimus smiled down at her, holding still so as not to hurt her should he move.

"Up?" The girl asked, holding her arms up, not minding as Cindy took over her turn.

Yellow eyes glowed softly as Ultimus lifted the girl up onto his shoulders, brushing back red hair so she wouldn't pull it by accident. The Little Sister shifted and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving Ultimus' cheek a kiss, "You're a good Daddy. And you can sing too!"

The mech actually blushed a bit, but with his inhuman blood it looked more bluish or greenish on him.

"He's nicer than other daddies." Allie's voice drifted over from behind where she was hovering in the doorway to the bedroom. She wandered out closer, wavering as if not able to decide to go over to the group or to the vent.

Ultimus turned to look at her, smiling. "I try my best."

"Can you help me Mr. Bubbles?" Allie asked, pointing at the air vent.

"Certainly." Ultimus trotted over, picking the girl up and lifting her up to the vent.

"Thank you," The girl said, yawning despite having spent a few hours cuddled up sleeping and not doing very much since waking. The Little Sister with the torn dress wiggled into the vent and started to crawl through the small passages in the walls.

Ultimus poked his head in curiously, the glow of his eyes casting enough light to see by. He glanced around the interior of the vent before withdrawing. It would go forward about a few feet before 'T'-ing and also had a hole in the middle so the girls could go down as well. To Ultimus it looked something like the maintenance shafts that honeycombed Metroplex and Autobase, only darker.

It probably was, or linked to them somewhere in the walls considering the times Jack went in she had followed the wall or went under the floor once or twice. The redhead would have sent a sonar-like ping through the vent if he'd been in mech form. Instead he withdrew, going back to the game.

Several sets of glowing eyes were watching him, a couple snickers, Jack was trying not to laugh again. Then Cindy piped up with a, "I don't think you fit Daddy."

"With shoulders this wide, I'm not even going to try," he replied with a chuckle. "But even we get curious about what those things look like inside."

"It's dark..." Another voice said from the entrance to the bedroom. The teenager had finally staggered up, yawning before she walked over and without hesitating wrapped her arms around Ultimus' side, acting just like the Little Sisters... only bigger.

The big redhead wrapped an arm around her, making the same soft rumble he made for the younger girls. "Must take some practice to move through those tunnels without getting lost."

"You follow the signs Daddy," The youngest put in, as if that should have been obvious, pausing her song and hopping, "And Mr. Bubbles' song!"

Ultimus tilted his head. "Do all Big Daddies sound the same, or does each one have a different song?"

The Little Sisters blinked, confused, and the teen seemed to have fallen asleep against the human formed Autobot. So Jack said after a moment, "I think... different types of Daddies sound a little different."

The Cybertronian blinked for a moment. "Humans very rarely sound the same... There should be at least a little voice difference between individual Big Daddies."

"Sometimes daddy sounds different..." The youngest piped up, tilting her head and then shrugged for it didn't matter to her.

Ultimus tilted his head, making his version of a Big Daddy call. Again, it was deeper than the typical Big Daddy's.

"Daddy!" the girls cried out, but delighted, and the Teen gave a jerk as she woke up, murmuring, "Time to go already?"

The Cybertronian laughed out loud. Then he raised an eyebrow at the teen. "How do the duties of a Big Sister differ from those of a Little Sister?"

The teen made a face and looked down, "Big Sisters have to hunt splicers... and go to the surface to find Little Sisters..." She twitched a bit, struggling with her new conditioning.

"Must be a long swim," the redhead commented blandly.

"Big Sisters _swim_ up?" Cindy froze, and thus fell over as she had just landed after a hop, "...no Maria had a sub..."

Ultimus shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I swim under my own power."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ultra Rodimus' notes:Note to splicers... Do NOT mess with Jack. Bad Things will happen if you do. Also, in this chapter Tenenbaum takes notice of the new critter in her realm.

Jack rested her chin on Ultimus' shoulder, watching the soon to be Big Sister running through a tunnel way above and to the left of the one they were in as they traveled to another section of the Den. The 12 year old sat up and patted the Autobot's shoulder for attention, "Hey look- it's June, she made it out!"

The mech tilted his head, looking in the indicated direction. Yellow eyes brightened. "That's good to hear."

"I can't believe that Reed person cut power to the den..." Jack said once more as she settled back down.

Ultimus made a growling sound. "It is annoying... Especially when a door stubbornly refuses to open," His eyes glowed brightly. "I would bet there is someone the nutter wants to keep out. Or maybe he's paranoid about anyone getting near the Thinker."

"Or both?" The girl offered, and then yelped as an explosion in one of the other tunnels caused it to implode. Alarms sprang to life and echoed as everything in the Minerva's Den locked down to keep from chain-flooding. Jack reflexively held her breath, wide eyes on the parts of the tunnel that were sinking past their tunnel too close...!

Armor plates actually bristled out as Ultimus registered the sound. The hydraulics in his legs whined audibly as he tensed, prepared to spring into a sprint if he had to. He held onto Jack, backing away from the collapsed bit of tunnel. The twisted remains sank down, coming near but not close enough to damage the passageway the two where in. A flailing, sparking thing that had been one of those security bots gave a final jerk and died. Just barely visible was a large form of a struggling Big Daddy before he was buried.

Ultimus frowned at the clear tunnel wall at the wreckage. "Ouch..."

Jack gasped, panting as she couldn't hold her breath any longer. She peeked up from hiding her face and pressing herself against the mech, and looked around to confirm, "Not dead?"

Yellow optics narrowed as Ultimus stretched his sensors outward. "No, he's alive... Just a bit stuck and probably royally pissed off."

"I don't want to be in here anymore." Jack said after a minute, not liking the feeling of losing her peace with the tunnels for the time being.

Without relaxing his hold on her yet, Ultimus backed away from the broken end of the tunnel, then turned and settled into a rapid trot away from the damage. Once he was out of the tunnel and back into the city itself, he stopped, looking around and trying to figure out what to do next.

"Ummm... I think the power relay was the other way..." Jack said after a long minute.

The Cybertronian hissed one of the nastier curses he knew in his own language, glaring back toward the flooded section. "We'll need to find another way through..."

Jack hesitated, not sure what had been said, and really it was probably a good thing she didn't know, "Down and under?"

Ultimus raised an eyebrow as he consulted the map he'd scanned into his systems. "Hmm..."

"Maybe going in the maintenance ways to get there?" The girl said, "If we got to get the power back on anyways..."

Ultimus considered the map for a moment. "The closest entrance to the maintenance tunnels are this way, I think..." He picked his way down a corridor, following the map he'd loaded into his processor.

"I wonder if there's a key needed..." Jack shifted in the mech's hold, turning back around to watch were they were going and then settled herself down on, between his arm and body instead of balancing up to look over his shoulder.

"We'll see when we get there, I guess." Ultimus drew in a deep breath, sorting through the scents. Jack licked her lips, sniffing as well, looking around and spotting one body in three. She frowned at the slight glow there, wondering what it meant since she hadn't been at the level of ADAM in her system before. The Cybertronian sneezed at the smell of ADAM. "Looks like a ripe one... Another Little Sister will be along to harvest that one."

"More than one," Jack said, leaning forward to get a better look, taking in the intensity of the glow from her point of view, "That's a lot of ADAM..."

"Apparently my sinuses are not fond of the smell of the stuff... At least not in large bloody concentrations." Ultimus made a face.

"Smells fine to me," Jack blinked up to look at the mech's optics, slightly baffled.

Ultimus smiled slightly. "You're more used to it. To me it just smells weird." He slowed down a bit; if she wanted to harvest the ADAM he would protect her, but he had no intention of making her harvest if she didn't want to.

Jack seemed to be really think, eyeing the corpse, made a face... but then gave into that 'instinct' that was more programming. Mental conditioning that had slowly become stronger with the more ADAM she had ingested. There was still a lot in her system, only part of it was regurgitated. The girl patted the arms holding her in that way she'd gotten into the habit of when wanting down.

The Cybertronian stopped, turning toward the corpse and gently placing Jack on her feet. Pulling out his laser cannon, he took up a protective stance, sensors on full alert. If he was watching Jack, Ultimus would see a slight, or not so slight strangeness. She wasn't flinching as much this time as Jack poked at the body with the needle a few times to be extra sure it was dead.

Ultimus tilted his head to watch. He could smell the death under the smell of ADAM and the sewer stench of spilled organs from farther down the hall. Then a new sound caught his attention, and he let a growl start low in his throat as the first splicers noticed what was going on.

It was a few minutes later when Jack realized there were splicers coming for her, truthfully she hadn't noticed and let her mind block out the world- until a large non metal hand grabbed her arm and she let out a scream as reality came crashing back on her.

The spider splicer must have slipped past when others were distracting Ultimus. "Time ta' come wit' meeeeeeeee!" he giggled, getting ready to drag the, to him, Little Sister into the nearest vent.

"UltiUltiUlti!"

The reaction was a roar that shook the corridor. The blur of metal looked slightly larger than before as he whipped around, not even bothering with the laser, twisting to unleash a kick that crushed in all the ribs on one side of the splicer's body, pulping the organs underneath. Ultimus subspaced the laser, choosing to draw his massive sword and slice the splicers into pieces, or simply rip off limbs and then brain their former owners with them. The one flaming brute splicer that dared join the fray was dealt with by one clawed swipe right at eye level, leaving the brute screaming and clawing at his ruined eyes.

Jack was gone, terror driven into bolting to one wall and squirming under a desk and into a small space behind it. Driven by waking nightmares of nearly being harvested by a spider splicer- the attack and sudden jolt into reality bringing it all back vividly to the point where she didn't care if she was sobbing, shaking. In her cubby hole she didn't see the rest of the fight- if it could be called that.

More like slaughter really, but that was besides the point to the girl, even when sprayed blood got her on the side. That at least was 'normal' in a disturbing way.

Ultimus was a veteran of the most brutal arenas Cybertron had ever seen; he was a specialist in taking his enemies apart. When he was done, it was impossible to tell exactly how many splicers he'd gone up against. Severed limbs and chunks of torso littered the corridor. Blood dripped from the tips of his claws and spattered his armor, even ran down his jaw from when he'd used his teeth to rip out the throat of the one splicer who'd tried to be sneaky (he'd spat out the mouthful as soon as it came loose). Flaming sulfur optics glared at the stragglers, who promptly turned tail and ran like the hounds of hell were on their tails. Maybe, in their heads, it was like that. Yelps like wounded dogs were heard, echoes of,

"God damned new Daddies!"

"The darkness!"

"Mommy!" filtered back to the mech before that section of the Den became eerily quiet. After a long minute there was the sound of something moving, more shifting behind Ultimus, out of reach and when he turned he'd find a shell shocked Big Sister- stopped in mid-pose of readiness to help him.

Yellow eyes turned toward the Big Sister, and he bared bloodstained fangs in a wicked grin. "My name means 'ultimate warrior'. It was a name hard-earned."

She only blinked in her helmet- eyes just barely visible, still not moving.

~Such a monster you are,~ A female voice said, though coming from the Big Sister, it wasn't her, but a radio in hand. ~Yet you defend a little one.~

"I do what I have to," he responded, looking at the radio. "I promised to protect her, and any splicer who tries to get past me will regret it. Catch me when I'm not in battle mode and I'm actually one of the calmest people around. But threaten someone in my care and all hell breaks loose."

~A Big Daddy.~ The woman's voice said... she was familiar sounding indeed, ~But not one, nor one I helped free the mind of.~

Yellow eyes flared brighter. "I've heard your voice before..." Pulling off his helm, he brushed red hair behind one pointed ear, tilting his head to one side as he thought quickly.

~Perhaps.~ She said, and then in a slightly more authoritative tone like that of a mother or grandmother, ~My Little One is still terrified.~ That was said more pointedly and with an expected edge.

Ultimus snorted, and then inhaled deeply, tracking the fear scent to where Jack was hiding. Kneeling down, he peeked into her hiding place. "It's okay now... They're all gone."

"Gonna get me!" The child whined, still shaking, hiding her face in the darkness as much from the fear as to keep her glowing eyes from giving her away. Not that what was left white on her dress and... nope her shawl was gone as well as the ribbon.

The mech began to hum softly, an echo of the croon he'd used to calm the other girls earlier that day. Shifting, he pulled in his claws, then extended his hand to her

It'd take a few moments at least before slowly, Jack would lower her hands enough to peek between her fingers, still stayed squished back in her cubby. Then she jumped, hitting her head doing so, as another voice started a surprisingly soothing and wordless song in counter point with Ultimus' deeper voice. The Big Sister behind him was hovering near, trying to match her voice with his as best she could.

Ultimus flicked an ear, but didn't look up, keeping his eyes on Jack. The fiery glow of his optics softened to a warm topaz as he continued to croon. Gulping, giving another whimper, the girl edged closer before reaching out to touch his fingers. Looking and acting much younger she scuttled forwards after finally realizing who he was. Gently, Ultimus picked her up, shifting so that he sat on the ground with Jack in his lap, wrapping his arms around her. The croon never stopped.

As Jack curled up against him, crying about it hurting again, hesitant fingers brushed the backs of Ultimus' shoulders. The Big Sister trying to see if the younger girl was okay but not trying to upset the Autobot at the same time.

~You show such kindness to the Little Ones, where others would take advantage.~ The woman on the radio spoke, her voice softer now.

Ultimus shifted so the Big Sister could see. "It's not in my nature... Tenenbaum, is it? And I'm not from Rapture. I have no need for ADAM, nor do I seek it. There is no reason for me to hurt her." He quickly wiped the blood off his hands before gently rubbing Jack's back.

~You are not organic,~ Tenenbaum snorted, sniffed and then her voice took the quality of one turning from a mike, ~Ahh! Little Ones! Do not eat that!~

Partly to give the woman fits and partly to comfort Jack, Ultimus shifted to his human form, lifting one hand so the Big Sister and Tenenbaum could see hard silver metal changing into tanned bronze skin. Yellow eyes developed whites around the yellow irises, and slitted black pupils. "I can be whichever I want. But I am not human, nor am I anything like a splicer."

There was quite over the radio before a soft, and very interested, ~How interesting...~

The Big Sister murmured in her helmet in confusion, wavering a little where she stood, not something normal. Ultimus grinned briefly and then turned his attention back to Jack. He wrapped both arms around her, holding her close, resuming the soft crooning.

The girl was holding tight, uncaring of the bloodstains at the moment as she pressed against the living warmth. She wasn't speaking again and had her eyes closed, one hand wrapped around her middle, and was slightly queasy looking.

"You okay?" he asked, yellow eyes glowing with concern. Very gently he brushed his fingertips against her cheek.

"I don't like Spider Splicers." Jack said in a very tiny voice, getting an agreeing mumble for the strange Big Sister.

"They are annoying," Ultimus agreed. He snorted softly. "And for the first time I find myself envying my commander, who commands lightning, or my comrade Titanus, who can teleport."

~Easily enough to do.~ The older woman said, paused as she remembered Ultimus' earlier words and stopped.

Ultimus freed one hand, unsheathing one claw. Making sure Tenenbaum could see everything, he sliced his palm, allowing greenish fluid to leak from the wound. A single drop fell to the floor, where it ate through the metal like acid. Yellow eyes pinned the Big Sister. "I am not human, as I said. My DNA is nothing like human DNA. Your plasmids won't work with me."

Tenenbaum made a longing sound, on the other end of the radio from her new safe house watching the screens. Feeling her first love and passion rise in her despite her current circumstances, ~A new challenge.~ she muttered.

A crimson eyebrow lifted. "Oh?"

~DNA is but a fun challenge,~ Tenenbaum said softly with a sigh, ~What I have always been good at. I cracked it long ago for humans, for my Little Ones and the ADAM that made them.~

Ultimus snorted. "You'll definitely be challenged by my genetic code. But I and my DNA are here, and you are not."

~Here? Here in Rapture. Here in hell and paradise. Here not in the Den, but here.~

"I meant right here, in this corridor or this room." Ultimus waved a hand. "Perhaps we'll meet face to face soon. Once I have met with my trapped kin."

There was quiet again, and then Tenenbaum chuckled. Speaking in German, her words had the Big Sister dropping the radio in his gesturing hand, ~Tell the Thinker I am here for it, if it wishes to continue. For my Little Ones...~

"The Thinker is one of my own kind... Not a creation of any human." Yellow eyes flashed briefly. "This I can tell."

~Is this so?~ That 'how interesting...' tone was back in the woman's tone, ~We will speak again, take care of my Little One.~

"Any who dare get too close will end up like that." Ultimus jerked his chin at the mess in the corridor. "Normally I'm calm; some might call me gentle when I choose to be. But run afoul of my protective instincts and all bets are off."

~Like one of the stinking brutes.~ Tenenbaum sighed, then she chuckled again, ~A good daddy you make though from what the girls say. Take care.~

"Once they get over my weird smell." Ultimus snorted. Then he slowly got to his feet, cradling Jack to his chest.

"She sounds really tired," Jack commented after the buzz of the radio faded, looking up at the mech.

"She does," the human mech agreed, glancing around warily before slowly shifting back to mech form, just in case.

A soft mumble came from the young Big Sister nearby, she crouched down, hands on the ground and legs folded up (the 'Spiderman' pose), tilting her head at Ultimus almost expectantly.

Ultimus tilted his head, lifting an eyebrow. "I'm assuming that you want something."

"Something's wrong," Jack said after frowning at the older girl, not making any move to get down and still clinging to Ultimus as the young Big Sister gave another mumble. This time it seemed more like dazedly spoken words, too soft to make it past the thick diving helmet.

Yellow eyes narrowed, and the mech inhaled deeply. "There's a weird smell... Do plasmids have smells?"

"Sometimes," the girl wrinkled her nose, "The bees smell weird, so does a few others... or more strongly... what's that on her shoulder?" Jack pointed at a pink splotch.

Ultimus leaned forward, sniffing. "That's the source of the strange scent. A plasmid? Do any of them appear as pink or red?"

"Uuhhhh...red is normally enrage," Jack frowned, "Green is the hypnotize one... I don't know of a pink one."

The redhead could only shrug, "Maybe some new one?"

"Or just one I don't know of," Jack pointed out, "There's supposed to be hundreds of plasmids and tonics."

"Hmm." The Cybertronian leaned in close, inhaling deeply and fixing the scent in his memory. If he ever came across it again he'd know, and perhaps find out what it was. Carefully taking the radio from the Big Sister, he tucked it under his armor, then tilted his head and waited.

Nothing happened for a long minute, and then Jack eeped as the lanky teen moved right up into Ultimus' space, tucking herself close before giving a sigh. Ultimus had to smile, curling one arm around the Big Sister and giving her a brief hug before letting go again.

"It's nice again," The Big Sister finally said, metallic voice further distorted by her diving helmet. "No bad things."

A scarlet brow lifted. "Bad things?"

"Little Sisters see the world different I heard." Jack muttered, reaching out to touch the Big Sister's air tank, and the drawing of a Big Daddy on it with fish.

"I figured that from listening to Cindy. Must be something to do with the conditioning." Ultimus thought for a moment. "You don't see it because you were never conditioned."

Jack shook her head, "No...I got away in a vent..."

"Don't fit," The Big Sister put in, shoulders slumping.

The redhead looked frustrated. "My commander is the one who's fairly well-versed in mental gymnastics, but I have no mental abilities to speak of. Never thought I'd be wishing I was a telepath."

"Telepath... like moving things?" Jack asked slowly, watching as the strangely calm Rapture made nightmare perked up.

"That's telekinesis," Ultimus corrected. "Telepathy is more like reading minds, hearing thoughts. My commander is an empath... He can sense what someone is feeling. When in physical contact with someone he's a limited telepath."

"Telekinesis." The Big Sister said, standing and looking around and back to Ultimus, tilting her head, "Like this!" She added, completely missing everything else he said, the teen extend her arms and pulling on her plasmids lifted several things up off the floor.

Ultimus nodded. "That's telekinesis. Telepathy does not move objects; it's reading minds or speaking into someone's mind without saying anything out loud."

The Big Sister paused, letting her picked up things drop and clatter back down as she considered his words now. "Like... what Eleanor does?"

"It would have to be strong telepathy." The mech nodded slowly. "If you hear her voice in your head but not your ears, that's telepathy."

"Telepathy..." the elder gatherer muttered, "Is the connection...huh."

"Eleanor can talk with other Sisters?" Jack blinked rapidly, frowning and looking down and back up at Ultimus.

One armored shoulder rose in a shrug. "If this Eleanor is a strong telepath, she could even talk to me if she were aware of me."

"No ADAM," The Big Sister frowned, moving back over to poke at the Autobot's nearer shoulder, baffled, "Won't hear her without it."

"Then it's a specialized or induced telepathy. Normal telepathy is not reliant on ADAM. My commander has had it since his rebirth, and he keeps his mind tightly shielded so he's not eavesdropping on every mech under his command." Ultimus shrugged again. "Since ADAM doesn't agree with me, I won't hear Eleanor and she won't be aware of me."

"Momma Tenenbaum makes ADAM work," The Big Sister said, pausing her movement to stare fixedly at a dead splicer, tilting her head first to one side and then the other. Jack patted Ultimus' arm for attention and pointed, the Big Sister was at an angle that they both could see the pink stuff starting to melt and fall off her suit.

"Since I'm here and she's elsewhere, not much chance of ADAM learning to agree with my systems," the redhead commented mildly. He looked at Jack, then followed her pointing finger to the pink stuff.

On instinct developed from her whole life living in Rapture, Jack sat up in the Autobot's arms before hunching down, "Um... maybe you should back up..." she said, watching the Big Sister twitch, shedding more of the pink plasmid.

The large mech eased backward, watching more of the pink stuff fall to the floor.

As the last fell away, the Sister jerked, having leaned over to get a better look at the dead splicer. She let out one of those piercing shrieks, loud enough that Jack clapped hands over ears. The Big Sister was turning back into a Rapture Nightmare, from the stance to the movements that became more predatory as she took in her surroundings. With another scream that convoyed her confusion and panic and anger, the Big Sister bolted, not looking back.

The shriek didn't seem to bother Ultimus in the slightest. His own optics flaring sulfur-yellow, he let out a deep rumble as he watched the Big Sister's stance change. Jack though was in her 'I'm hiding!' pose, curled up in Ultimus' arms and not looking as the Big Sister finally stopped her confused darting. She had found a window, and then teleported out into the open waters, twisting to look back at Ultimus for a moment before swimming off.

The big redhead barely batted an eye at the Sister, watching in silence as she disappeared. Both arms were wrapped around Jack, holding her protectively.

Jack shivered, only after a little while she peeked out, looking around first for the Sister, and then took in the...mess. She gave a whimper like sound and turned to hide her face against Ultimus' lower chest, "Can we go?"

Ultimus wrapped the heavy fur (he'd been carrying it since the other Little Sisters had disappeared back into the vents) around Jack, then silently picked his way around the ruined corpses of the splicers who'd dared challenge him, heading down the corridor in the direction of their new route through the Den. Guided by the maps he'd memorized, Ultimus shifted to a steady trot.

"Better than other daddies," Jack whispered, only half quoting a few of the Little Sister before... She had her nose in the fur as she finally looked to see where they were going.

"According to the maps we should be getting close to the maintenance tunnels," the mech rumbled softly.

"Do you know how to fix the power once we get there?" Jack asked, suddenly realizing this fact was very important for getting the main power back on in the Den.

Ultimus snorted softly. "I'm a mechanical life-form; I should be able to figure it out. For all I know, the Thinker might show me or tell me how."

"If there's something there that lets him tell, or the... The Nutter person maybe do something else." Jack made a face, and then hiccupped, clapping a hand over her mouth so not to spit out any of the ADAM rich blood she had downed.

Ultimus showed fangs. "The Nutter can try."

The girl swallowed a few times, licked her palm clean before grasping at fur and the Autobot's arm. Ultimus shifted his arms slightly, cradling the girl against his chest. He scanned warily for any approaching threats as he moved. Though the local splicers should have at least gotten the hint from the mess he'd made of the last bunch, and steer clear of the pair.

The seemed to have gotten the hint, at least for now the chance of ADAM had a currently too high of a price for the mutated and spliced people. Jack was in full cling mode, not having any intention of being put down again after that near-harvest (as she saw it). To anyone else who happened to be watching, the big mech's movements were as predatory in their own way as a Big Sister's. He radiated the distinct aura of "approach me and there'll be blood on the floor". As a veteran warrior, he knew that an enemy already psyched out was an enemy half-defeated.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ultra Rodimus' note: Here we have a very unexpected family reunion, and no one is really sure what to think. And yes, Ultimus' sense of smell really is that sharp. He's long since adapted to a predatory lifestyle. Bloodhounds weep with envy over the strength of his olfactory sensors. He never forgets a scent, so if he's got your scent and he doesn't like you, you're screwed no matter how far you run.

"Are we almost there?" Jack asked, now fully turned around and clueless of where there were in the Den.

The redhead nodded. "We should be reaching the tunnel entrances within the next few corners." He slowed down slightly, scanning for the tunnel entrances.

"After the power's fixed, can we take another rest?" Jack asked, settling back down, almost hidden from sight of anyone nearby- if there was anyone near.

"Of course." The big mech's voice deepened to a rumble, vibrating through his frame. "If we can't find an empty room, I'll find a place to wedge my trailer for a while."

A soft giggle came out of the girl as she remembered the last time, "It might get painted again."

Ultimus' laugh was a slightly stronger vibration accompanying the sound. "Of that I have no doubt."

"Damn Nutter," a male voice drifted to the two just before getting to the place where the maintenance tunnel was supposed to be. "'Ah can't believe that spliced-crazed idiot! Offs the power to the _whole_ Den!"

"Proves that genetic codes have a down side eh?" A woman's voice, "Come on, quit complaining; we got to fix this before we all keel over from the lack of air."

Ultimus paused, tilting his head to the side as he listened. Then he padded forward, silent as a shadow, gently laying a finger on Jack's lips in a request for not a single sound. Cautiously, he looked around the corner. Two people were there, the man standing with a shotgun in one hand and a tommy gun in the other. The woman was kneeling down by a panel, hacking her way through the lock on the door to the maintenance way. Two of the hovering bots buzzed around them, armed with rockets for one, and the other carried bullets. The two were dressed in worker's coveralls, thick boots and the tool belts really gave them away. But the two were also completely human.

The mech watched them for a long moment, inhaling deeply. Air hissed from his vents as a familiar scent flowed into his olfactory sensors. Slowly, he moved around the corner and stopped, watching the two.

Hyper alert outside their known safe-zone, and understandably so, the hiss had first the man looking over, and his yelp made the woman look over. Muffled curses before they flattened out on the wall so there was ample space in the hall...

"...why is there fur on the Big Daddy?" She asked.

"No idea in hell love." He said.

Ultimus let out an amused snort. "Obviously I killed something that had fur. Why else?" Yellow optics glittered with amusement.

There was a long pause, and then, "Holy shit that's not a Big Daddy!"

The redhead tilted his head slightly, indicating the girl in his arms. "In some ways I am, in most ways I am far worse than any Big Daddy this city has every spawned. However, I only fight if someone provokes me, and 'provocation' equals 'coming at me with a weapon' or 'going after her with intent to harm'. Otherwise I can be quite peaceful."

"Umm...that's good then." the woman said after a moment, "Well, don't mind us, Rapture's Maintenance Guild doing our job, off ya go!"

Yellow optics narrowed fractionally. "We're here to get power to this place restored."

The two humans exchanged looks, "Fifty bucks says e's the one that freaked the Nutter." the man said.

Ultimus' grin revealed fangs. "The Nutter came walking down the hall, took one look at me, and ran like a rat with its tail on fire."

"Nutter is freaked to all hell by any Daddy," The woman muttered, only partly wondering why. She eyed the girl in Ultimus' arms before looking back to his optics, "Long as you don't flip on us, could use the backup..."

"As long as you don't make any moves toward her, there won't be any problems." Ultimus nodded.

"ADAM twisted my family enough," The woman muttered as she turned back to bypassing the lock, the man was still eying Ultimus, edging between the mech and woman.

"Name's Will." He said after a minute, tilting his head to his partner, "That's Kate."

"I am called Ultimus," the Cybertronian replied. "This is Jack."

Kate paused, frowned and then pulled something harder than needed, but the maintenance door cycled open, "Alright go." She waved her bot in, holding the trigger to keep the door open. Ultimus watched, yellow optics glowing softly. He inhaled, taking in the scents. The woman smelled very familiar. Will trotted into the passageway, Kate waiting a few moments before looking back at Ultimus, "Well? Come on if you're coming, Tin Man; I can't hold the door forever."

The Cybertronian snorted, walking through the door. He still made very little noise when he walked, as opposed to the average Big Daddy. That got him a strange look from both Will and Kate, the woman blinked and shook her head, shifted and bolted in the door, it closed just behind her before re-locking. Ultimus only smiled, sweeping his sensors outward for any lurkers.

Kate shook herself off as she rolled up, paused to check her tool belt and then whistled for her drone. "We need to split to get the over-rides triggered at the same time, since there's three of us now."

The Cybertronian tilted his head. "Where are these overrides?"

Will pulled out a laminated and folded up something, the man shook it out as he moved to a wall, using the piping to hold up the map. It was Minerva's Den, only more detailed with the different side rooms, maintenance tunnels' there was even a gold lines marking the vents for air as well as assorted other things. Kate came over to smooth the map out be trailing fingers along one part.

"Here, here and..." She moved to another spot farther away from the other two, "Here, Central Computing, in the Thinker's area itself."

Ultimus' eyes glowed as he scanned the map into his memory, a beam of bluish light sweeping over it to get all the details. "I will take that last one, as I am here to see the Thinker in the first place."

"Nutter's gonna flip his last strands." Will pointed out.

Kate paused, and then grinned with her partner, "Let's do it."

The mech showed his fangs in a wicked grin. "If you hear someone screaming like a girl over the PA system, you'll know the Nutter has crossed my path again." He was about to say something else when a sensor started tingling, and he turned his head slightly to look down the corridor.

"Look out for Little Sisters," Kate said, tracing out the path to the override she was going to take, "They pop out in the tunnels sometimes, and damn if they can't stab where it hurts."

"To them I'm a Big Daddy. Earlier I woke up to find I'd attracted a small pile of them, curled up against me. To a Little Sister I'm a protector, not an enemy. There won't be any problem with the Little Sisters, and the real Big Daddies have no reason to attack me." Yellow eyes narrowed as he scanned for whatever had triggered his proximity sensors. "And as for other hazards..." He slammed a hand right through the wall, into a hollow space he'd detected. A moment later, he pulled out a twitching, convulsing spider splicer, head almost completely severed.

Jack gave a yelp at the sudden move and then again as she saw the splicer, clutching tighter to fur and mech. The two adult human cursed and leapt away- Will just managing to keep a hold on his map and the two drones beeping in alarm, rushing back to investigate. Ultimus dropped the body to the floor at his feet, watching as it finally stopped twitching. He inspected the claws on his fingertips for a moment. "They have yet to figure out that I do not have a blind spot they can sneak into."

"Holy shit!" Kate said, looking down at the splicer, then up at the new hole. She smacked her partner, "Quick! Help me seal that back up before more find it!"

The Cybertronian looked at the ragged hole, then grabbed one edge and began pulling it back over. Bringing out his rivet gun, he waved it. "If you've got a piece of metal big enough to cover the hole..."

The two engineers whistled at their drones, vanishing for a few minutes to look for something to cannibalize in their tunnels nearby. Within the crook of the mech's arm, Jack peeked out again. "The splicer is dead right?"

"I doubt even a splicer can live with most of its throat ripped out." Just to be sure, the redhead placed his foot on the splicer's neck, pressing down and thoroughly crushing the vertebrae.

"How do they just come out of nowhere?" Jack asked, but it was more of a general question to the air then to Ultimus. She looked down over his arm before dropping back in her now spot, still not wanting to be put down yet.

"They've probably been finding or making new ways through this place since the city went to hell." Ultimus used one foot to manipulate the splicer's limp limbs, watching how the joints moved. "Whatever the slag they're shooting up with loosened their tendons and ligaments, to the point they can stretch more than any normal human. And it wouldn't surprise me if they can dislocate joints at will."

"They can," Kate said as she came back with a grate balanced carefully on her back, "You wouldn't believe some of the places they can wiggle out of and into. There must have been a new opening somewhere for that thing to get in the tunnels."

The Cybertronian scowled at the body, muttering something incredibly rude in his own language, then looked at the grate. "Hold it carefully while I put the rivets in... I don't want to cause any more damage or hurt anyone."

The woman looked at Jack, and then huffed as she hefted up the grate around. After sliding it to the right place she leaned against it and braced herself. Half expecting a hand on her back like the normal Big Daddies did. Ultimus carefully shifted Jack onto his shoulder, under the fur. Lifting the rivet gun, he began placing precise rivets around the edge.

The mechanic stood back after the shots of the rivets stopped, rubbing her ears before poking the Spider Splicer with the toe of her boot. "Thanks, now the fun part dragging this away before it stinks more."

"Check for cash." Will called from out of sight.

The redhead regarded the corpse, then extended one leg to touch it. The splicer promptly vanished, into a separate subspace pocket. "I know some of my comrades who would love to take that apart..."

"...did you just eat it?" Jack asked, unable to help it, and from the look on Kate's face she may have thought of the same thing.

"I subspaced it. Same as I do to cans of food we come across, buckets of ADAM, and my trailer. Just into a different pocket." Ultimus made a face. "I wouldn't dare eat anything like that. Would give me indigestion."

"Make you bonkers too," Kate said as she adapted to what he said, "Like the critters running around and swimming outside"

The mech smiled slightly. "You underestimate how strong I am, mentally and physically. But I'm still going to avoid it if at all possible."

"Wish she did," Kate muttered under her breath, starting off again, "Damn stuff took everything..."

Will looked after his partner and then glanced back Ultimus as the woman stalked off. "Give her a minute."

Ultimus inhaled deeply. This woman's scent was one of those from Jack's family's apartment, slightly changed but still familiar. He took a moment to sort out the scents, connecting faces and smells. Jack's aunt. This woman Kate was Jack's aunt. She was different than in the photo, the last six or so years hadn't been very kind. Forced to grow and harden in the way that was common for those in Rapture at this point in time. Her face had changed, but her scent was still basically the same. Ultimus knew her, more from her scent than her appearance. He watched the woman stalk away, shifting Jack from his shoulder back into his arms.

"She lost her family to those either ADAM crazed or wanting more." Will said, soft enough that his partner wouldn't hear as he followed behind.

"Has she ever found any of them?" Ultimus asked.

"Sister's kids taken, brother in law killed or imprisoned and her sister lost in the haze..." Will shrugged, "Now and then we see Lacey, but never the kids."

"So her sister is... spliced? And her sister's husband is possibly dead." Ultimus pondered, debating with himself for a long moment. He looked at Jack for a long moment, then back at Will. "And you have met one of the kids," he rumbled finally.

Will glanced back, not understanding right away, "Hm? Oh, probably, we see Little Sisters and Brothers all the time. Can get close but the girl would be nearing that age they start to convert to Big Sisters."

Yellow eyes were serious. Again the mech looked down at the girl he carried, then back at Will, lifting an eyebrow.

The man blinked back, turning and frowning at Jack. The girl realized the attention and ducked lower, "No way."

"I recognize Kate's scent," Ultimus told him. "I memorized it in her family's apartment. Kate is Jack's aunt."

"...she is?" Jack asked, craning her head back to look up at Ultimus.

"What?" Kate herself called back, picking up on her name.

Ultimus looked at Jack. "I told you that I would recognize members of your family by scent whenever we encountered them. I caught a familiar scent as we approached the tunnels, and I have been tracking on it. It's her scent. Kate's scent."

Will jumped as Kate came up beside him, staring intently at mech and 12 year old. She looked shocked and disbelieving, not sure if she should dare to hope what Ultimus had said was true.

"I'm not mistaken," the mech rumbled. "My sense of smell is too acute. I know your scent from the family apartment. You and Jack are family."

Kate turned her full attention to the girl again, taking in everything she could. A double realization sank heavily in. Jack was basically a Little Sister, short most of the mental conditioning. Still had an ADAM slug in her belly, the yellow glaze of the eyes, mostly unseen scars of operations and near harvesting from splicers. Jack had been living on her own in Rapture for a little over five years.

Ultimus gently touched Jack's cheek. "She ran into me shortly after I arrived here... Almost literally ran into. I protect her now, from splicers and whoever else would try to hurt her."

"You're her Big Daddy," Kate surmised, she needed time to think this over...

"You could call me that, yes. But I do not make her harvest ADAM; she does it only if she chooses to." Ultimus nodded.

"The Daddies are guards, not enforcers." Will muttered, almost defensively.

"I have no need of ADAM, so none need be harvested. And I do not take orders from those lunatics I've heard over the PA system."

Kate looked torn, but as the lights flickered she shook herself, "We need to get power back to the Den before we suffocate." She said, paused and eyed Ultimus, "We're having a chat though after."

Ultimus nodded. "I must see the Thinker, and then I will find you. I can track your scent anywhere in the city now."

The woman took a step back motioning to her left and a darkened side tunnel, "This is a faster way to the Thinker. And if anything happens to my sister's baby, I don't care if you're a god, I will hurt you."

"You wouldn't be able to pierce my armor, but the warning is acknowledged." Ultimus inclined his head, and then snorted. "Go back that way and have a look at the last idiot who tried to hurt her. If you can figure out which body parts belong to them."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ultra Rodimus' notes: For the first time since his arrival in Rapture, Ultimus resumes his true form. And a certain splicer freaks out XD Anyone who's played the Minerva's Den DLC for BioShock 2 should be able to guess who the "rogue Big Daddy" mentioned in this chapter is.

Ultimus trotted along the corridor toward the Thinker, Jack tucked protectively against his chest plate. He'd given the radio frequency he was using to Kate and Will, so they could make sure they were all setting off the breakers at the same time. He was carrying the rivet gun, upgraded at something Jack had told him was a weapons upgrade station, a "Power to the People" machine. According to what Kate had told him, they were getting close to the Thinker's core.

"It didn't feel like I thought," Jack spoke up, the first time since the weapon station. She had been thoughtfully quiet for a long while after being introduced to the idea that Kate was one of her missing family members.

"What doesn't?" Ultimus asked, looking at her.

"Finding my Aunty..." Jack looked down at her hands, fiddling with the Gather's needle, "I didn't feel anything, but my head hurt a little."

"She's no longer the woman you knew, and you're no longer the girl she remembers," Ultimus rumbled softly. "It's no surprise you don't know what to make of each other now. Time does that. My commander, Roddy, was separated from his twin brother for a very long time, and when they finally met again they had no idea how to treat each other. It's something that has to be learned anew."

"Is he nice?" Jack asked, diverted from her thoughts, having heard Ultimus mention his commander more than a few times.

"Roddy? He's a leader, so he takes his duties seriously, but he is a very nice person to know. And his twin, Goldie, is the biggest prankster I've ever met." Ultimus smiled.

There was a long paused and then Jack twisted to look back up Ultimus' optics, "What's that?" she asked, having never come across the new word.

"It means he plays tricks on people," Ultimus replied. "With paint, glitter, tinsel... Harmless tricks."

"I've saw glitter once!" Jack perked up, "It was pretty."

"Goldie has been known to cover people in it." The grin turned wry. "He got me once... Roddy helped me get him back for it later."

"...I don't think I want to be covered in it." Jack said, making a face. Playing with the stuff on the other hand... that was something that sounded fun.

Ultimus snorted. "Goldie only plays his tricks on our own kind, and generally not on anyone under seven feet tall, the height of a cassette."

"A diary?" Jack asked, baffled. Of course she wouldn't know what a cassette-transformer was, not yet anyways. "Is that the way to the Thinker?" She added.

Ultimus rumbled a laugh. "A cassette is the smallest of my kind. In mech form they stand only about seven feet tall, and in their alt mode they are cassette tapes. Because of my own great size I have to be careful not to step on them." Yellow optics scanned the corridor. "We are getting very close."

"Are you good at not stepping one people?" The girl asked, shifting in his arms, not fully sure she wanted to go into the place the Thinker was. Between the things she heard from splicers, the announcements- What Reed had ranted a few times, and gathering that the Thinker was like Ultimus...she wasn't a bit nervous.

"Because my people work so closely with many much smaller races, we have special sensors that keep track of any life-forms in our immediate vicinity. So far I've never stepped on anyone." Ultimus headed toward the entrance to the computer core, keeping his sensors peeled for splicers.

There didn't seem to be any nearby, not so close to the Thinker anyways. Even with most of the power out they avoided this place. What security there was- and there was a lot, didn't seem to be triggered by the Autobot, though now and then a camera would focus on him.

Ultimus eyed the cameras, but otherwise didn't react. If attacked he would defend himself, but otherwise he left the security bots, turrets, and cameras alone.

A drone buzzed by, but was more intent with chasing after a rogue vacuum bot, whistling and buzzing at the thing like scolding it. Jack give a small giggle. "I don't think they like each other."

The redhead laughed. "Sounds like a hen scolding a chick."

Jack smiled before turning her attention to the neck barrier. She tilted her head as the door refused to open, making that now distinct jerk and clunking sound of being held back by the lock. The girl looked around and spotted a vent, patting Ultimus' arm and pointing at it, willing to be put down now and help.

Ultimus walked over to the vent, lifting her toward it. The mech stayed next to the vent, listening.

There was shuffling as Jack slid down and into the air vents, still of moving air. After a few minutes the girl came back, peeking out of the vent, "I think I see the place to unlock the door, but there's someone in that big place." She admitted, waiting for Ultimus' input, no his decision of what to do and not realizing she was doing so.

The redhead frowned. "Someone? Hmm." He pondered for a moment. "Is the door control right next to the door?"

The girl shook her head, "It's a booth."

Ultimus looked at the door, frowning. "How close is the someone to the booth?"

"Down on the lower level," Jack said after a moment, shifting in the vent and scooted backwards. She came back stretched out just inside, but had an old printed paper scrap, and a crayon that much have come from a Little Sister stash.

The redhead flexed one hand, pulling an odd-looking orb from subspace. "This should help... This is a flash grenade. It produces a bright flash of light but doesn't cause any damage. Twist the top to the right, then throw it out of the vent, drop back in, and close your eyes. When the howling starts, run for the booth."

Jack looked up from her drawing- no it wasn't a random drawing. it was a rough scribbling of what the room beyond the door looked like. The girl scooted closer to the opening to stare at the 'ball.'

Ultimus offered her the orb. "This will blind him, hopefully. How long it'll work on a splicer I don't know, but it'll get him out of the way, at least."

"What way does it turn?" She asked, looking down and added a few more things before offering the paper scrap.

"To the right." Ultimus showed her the seams on the top. "Grab the top and twist it to the right." He mimed the twist in the air above it. "Then throw it out of the vent and cover your eyes. Whoever's in there will probably start screaming once it goes off. Once the howling starts, you can head for the booth."

"Okay," Jack said after carefully watching him. She reached for it and then started backwards into the vent again. "ACK!" A pause, "Is is okay if it was dropped but not turned?" her voice echoed back out.

Ultimus sighed. "It's not armed, so it won't go off. Twisting it arms it, so it's safe to handle beforehand."

The girl made a relieved sound before starting off again. Jack's movements faded as she left, moving through the mostly dark vents, reliant on the side-effect of the ADAM slug implantation that made the girls' eyes more sensitive over time, she found another vent, beyond to first one she peeked out of. Now she climbed up and quietly peered out here, hesitated as she took in the distance to the ledge, and to the booth before squirming to get the flash grenade out. Listening to the muttering ramblings just out of sight, the girl twisted the top as Ultimus had shown, and tossed the thing. As she scrambled back to hide, the thing bounced a few times before rolling off the ledge and into the lower level where Reed was.

Several seconds later, the grenade went off, creating a blinding flash of light. It was the kind of flash that caused an afterimage on the back of the eye, causing a flash-blindness that would take longer to fade. That should keep Reed out of the way long enough for Jack to get to the booth and open the door.

She was scrambling again, falling out of the vent, having been balled up and below the flash that did make it to the vent she was unaffected. Running with the screamed words of, "My eyes! My eyes! It Burns!" in her ears the girl skidded around the corner and darted into the control booth. She paused, hesitating as she looked around at the equipments and...everything.

A light flashed near a promising button and the girl slapped it, but had to stand on tip-toes to see through the window to see if it worked.

Ultimus was standing close to the door, waiting. He heard the lock disengage. As soon as the door was open he was through it, his gaze taking in everything as he entered the chamber.

Reed was still yelling, but the tone had changed from pain to rage. He was after the only other moving thing he saw, bounding up the stairs to the higher level, weaponless at the moment but still dangerous to a smaller form. Jack had fled the main booth before it could be sealed by the Thinker- it did try to help.

Jack was scrambling into the vent when she felt a hand on one ankle and bare foot. She gave a short scream and kicked, reaching for the other side of the vent inside.

A roar shook the entire room, causing the walls to vibrate. It was a sound far deeper and far more powerful than anything the red-haired Cybertronian had voiced before. A huge shadow fell over the enraged splicer, massive metal "bands" closing around his body and wrenching him away from the girl.

Jack was half dragged back out before the dubbed Nutter let go, letting out a scream that sounded somehow more girly then hers had been. Either way the 12 year old just managed to keep her from falling out the rest of the way and got herself the rest of the way in. Thumping down in gracelessly and sliding down farther into the air vent. She didn't see the light outside flicker and change to dark blue and red.

It was the Thinker, in his own way making Ultimus both blend in and stand out harshly. A subtle thrum coming from somewhere under the Autobot's feet- where the real spark was.

Ultimus lifted the splicer up to stare directly and harshly at him. The computer core was mostly taken up with the redhead's massive frame, the curved crests on his helm almost scraping the ceiling. Yellow eyes bigger than the Little Sister vents glowed with fury, lips peeling back to expose fangs at least three feet long. The mech roared again, right into Reed's face from very close range.

That was far too much, for a normal human even, but someone with an already broken mind with an unhealthy fear of Big Daddies. In short, Reed's system evacuated itself in his pants, and he passed out. Oddly with his eyes open, but passed out in fear nonetheless.

Ultimus made a deep amused rumble as the splicer fainted, tossing him aside. He looked at his hand, curling his lip in disgust. Using one fang to pierce his lip, he let several drops of his own blood drop onto his palm, burning away anything the splicer had left on his armor before he self-destructed the nanites and put his hand down. Turning back to the vent, he peered into it. "Are you all right?"

A full minute ticked by, Jack was in there, shifting audibly but waiting for her ears to heal and be able to hear properly. As safe as the vents were, sound conducted extremely well, too well in this case.

The mech waited patiently, almost perfectly still, watching the vent. He could feel the familiar thrum of a spark, the spark of one of his own kind, nearby.

Two glowing eyes peeked out of the darkness of the vent after the lights had returned to the soft hue as before. "...Ulti?"

Ultimus smiled softly. "I did say I was big. This is my true form."

There was nothing but staring for a long while, and then slowly, very slowly the girl inched her way closer to the opening of the vent. Eyes wide and though maybe in shock at least she wasn't screaming and bolting away into the vents.

The big redhead remained almost perfectly still, watching her, making no sudden moves that could frighten her.

Small hands grasped the edge of the vent opening and Jack finally pulling herself out a bit, craning her head to get a more clear look at the full sized Autobot. But it was more in awe than fear now that he could see her. Finally, she spoke, saying the only thing that seemed to fit.

 _"Big_ Daddy..."

Ultimus let out a soft rumble of laughter. "Very big," he agreed. "I'm huge even by the standards of my own people."

Jack leaned out a little more, responding to his voice now. The position she was in she would either take a nose dive or have to back up until she could turn around.

Slowly, the mech lifted one hand, holding it under the vent so she could pull herself out into his palm. His claws were carefully sheathed, though the tips could still be faintly seen in the very tips of his fingers.

Jack reached out, first poking and then pressing her hand against one of Ultimus' digits. Testing. Yet finding it the same warm, live metal that had been carrying her around for the last several hours at least. She looked back up at the mech's optics for a moment before carefully, but still trustingly when it came down to it, onto his hand.

Ultimus held his hand still, curling his fingers slightly to help keep her from falling off. Slowly, he lifted his hand, tilting his head slightly. The tip of one crest tapped the wall lightly. "I never hurt you before, so why would I start now?"

"...there's more of you now." Jack said after thinking over his question, staying on her hands and knees for mental security of balance, and not moving to look over the edge of his hand.

"This is my true form, at my full size. I did say I was big, but I'm not sure anyone believed me, or thought I meant I was _this_ big." The mech smiled wryly.

"...too big for hugs..." Jack realized in a tiny voice, finding she didn't like that. Being deprived of good attentions, she was realizing she really liked it be able to snuggle into Ultimus' arms before.

"But good for scaring off splicers." The Cybertronian gently placed Jack on the floor, returning to his smaller size. His body appeared to turn into a column of molten metal, flowing into his more human-sized form. "I think seeing sixty feet of pissed-off metal would make even the most insane splicers turn tail and run."

"yeah," Jack paused, sniffing and then made a face, lifting her hands to cover her nose, "Eww...that's not ADAM..."

"That would be that." The redhead waved toward the out-cold form of Reed Wahl. "Let's just say I very literally scared the crap out of him."

It took a couple seconds, and drawing on ADAM given memories before Jack finally understood that phrase in its entirety. "...eeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww..."

"Agreed." Ultimus made a face in Wahl's direction. "I let my own acidic blood clean the residue off my armor. And I'd rather not get any closer to that stink than I have to." Turning, he gazed up at the core of the Thinker, then looked around for the circuit breaker.

A small light was blinking, in that same way before that Jack had seen. Since it had worked out before and was away from Reed she wandered over there, searching for... "Is this it?" She asked, pointing to the text she couldn't read well.

Ultimus walked over, looking at the panel. "That's it." Fishing out his radio, he poked at it. "I'm in position... What about you two?"

 _"Gimme a tick,"_ Will's voice said.

 _"Shhh!"_ That was Kate, and over the radio was the sound of roaring- a very upset Big Daddy. Something Ultimus would later find out was an Alpha.

The redhead looked at his radio for a moment, then settled in to wait for the other two to let him know they were ready.

 _"Holy shit that thing was pissed,"_ Kate finally said.

_"Rogue?"_

_"Flaming mad, one of the old ones."_

_"Ah."_ Will paused, _"Okay I'm set."_

"A rogue Big Daddy?" Ultimus' forehead crinkled in confusion for a moment (the flexibility of the solid sheet of metal that was his faceplate never failed to startle most humans not used to metal flexing like that). He pondered for a moment, then set that thought aside to be considered later. "That's two of us. Kate?"

_"Makin' sure I'm alone... okay. On three?"_

"On three," the big mech agreed.

 _"One, two, three."_ There was no raised tone in Kate's voice, mostly to keep attention off her. She flipped the lever up on the three. Waiting.

Jack shifted and looked down as she felt the true power kick back in. There was a general sense of something waking up and shaking itself, vibrating the floor underfoot before the currents of power settled and the lights came back to full power. Screens lit up as well all around the two in the Thinker's Control room, flipping through all the cameras of not just the Den but all over Rapture as the Thinker caught itself up on what was happening.

Ultimus flipped the switch precisely on three, looking up as the lights came back on. Turning, he looked toward the computer core, watching the lights flickering across it.


	16. Chapter 16

 

 

**Ultra Rodimus'** **notes:** Ulti and the Thinker chat, discuss, and make plans for the future.

**Omicron's note** - **_"_** _/Cybertronian speech is like this./"_

* * *

Jack wrapped her arms around the mech's closer leg, "It woke up."

The mech gently rubbed her back, facing the core squarely. After a moment he spoke, calling out an ancient greeting in Cybertronian. A thrum came, the feeling was like that of a city- or ship-former really. But with more limited communications, the Thicker tried none the less to respond, a crackling tone coming from the speakers in the room, mostly from the booth above.

The mech looked up toward the booth, debated for a moment, then picked Jack up, holding her close. A whining sound began to rise from the backs of his lower legs as his as-yet-unused and probably forgotten turbines ignited. As slowly as he could without stalling, Ultimus used his turbines for vertical lift, then angled his legs to move over to the upper catwalk. Touching down, he let his turbines spool down, walking into the booth.

"...whoa..." Jack muttered, paused and frowned as she heard a new sound from the both that was almost like someone laughing, "...is that the Thinker?"

"Sounds like it." Ultimus made his way into the booth. "When first we met I did say that I could fly, and you've seen my wings, but in a city this cramped it was less than important."

A few soft sounds came from a speaker, pointless to Jack but it was a broken Cybertronian voice, a soft greeting to Ultimus. Yellow eyes brightened as the redhead responded. In careful Cybertronian, he asked the other Transformer's name, and how he had come to be there.

"/ _Thinker_./" Was the response, pause and then something like 'Station Max' came next but it was a bit garbled.

Ultimus tilted his head slightly to one side. "/ _You are Cybertronian?_ /"

"/ _I was,_ /" The Thinker said, energy thrummed under the champers, "/ _I am_ Rapture _now, but it will not need me soon. Not all of me._ /"

"What's it saying?" Jack asked, reaching up to tug on Ultimus' fingers.

"It says it was one of my race, a Cybertronian, but now is Rapture. It - he? - also says that soon Rapture will not need all of him," Ultimus translated. He looked at the console. "/ _I assume you're a mech rather than a femme or an it?/_ "

"/ _I was a mech, still am in a way, but I now have a spark for a city-former._ /" The Thinker said thoughtfully, as if he hadn't considered it in a long time.

Yellow optics brightened. "/ _Currently there are only two or three city-mechs in existence. Metroplex and Trypticon, and possibly Fortress Maximus./_ "

There was a long pause, where only the normal background sounds of the underwater city was heard. Almost when it was too long did the Thinker speak again, "/ _So few?/_ "

Ultimus made a face. " _/The wars brought our numbers dangerously low, and energon supplies, until recently, were too scarce to support a mech of that size./_ "

" _/I knew no wars,_ /" The Thinker said, the speakers skipping a little. One of the cameras in the booth shifted a little to keep track of Jack as she peeked out of the booth. But there was currently no threat so he didn't mention it.

Ultimus blinked. " _/I fought in the very first, when we overthrew our enslavers nearly a hundred million years ago. As far as I know I was in stasis through three more, and most of the fourth./_ "

A strange sound came out of the speakers not just in the booth but in the chamber beyond as well as a few halls, making an eerie echo. " _/Enslavers?!/_ "

The redhead bared fangs in a vicious growl. _"/We were built by a race of techno-organic squids, about a hundred million years ago. The Autobots were built as domestic slaves, the Decepticons as walking weapons. We were sold off-world by the thousands, or forced to fight and kill each other for their entertainment. Even after Primus gave us sentience we were enslaved, beaten or tortured or starved into submission. When we finally got fed up with it, rebellion and open war broke out. Eventually we drove the squids away. Now we are too powerful for them to tangle with. /_ "

_"/...I do not have any memories of this.../"_ The thinker said after taking a moment to not only absorb Ultimus' words but also to focus on the power levels in Hephaestus and shift said power so not to have that very important part of the city, you know, explode and sent the rest to freeze.

_"/Few remember because it happened so long ago./"_ Ultimus shrugged. _"/I remember because I was there. I was a gladiator, fighting in the arenas, forced to kill my own kin to entertain those who had enslaved us. Unless you were that old, you probably wouldn't remember. Most of the old records were long since lost./"_

" _/I do not remember much of anything other than we are of the same people,/_ " The Thinker's screens where displaying several images and clips. There was some that looked like black and white photos of a broken, hurt mech with a few much smaller humans, and then some less fuzzy ones of a modified spark chamber behind the one man, Porter. Vids of the Rapture being built. " _/All I have proper memories of is here. But I know there's more, or could be./_ "

" _/Your memory banks must have been damaged, or erased./_ " Ultimus frowned slightly. " _/Or perhaps they're just locked away, sealed where you can't get to them./_ "

" _/I was heavily damaged when I found Porter,/_ " The Thinker hummed its relays underfoot again, there was a second, " _/The Little Sister shouldn't drink that./_ " He added.

" _/The damage must have included your memory banks, and the humans might have disabled or removed the rest./_ " Ultimus could only shrug, indicating that he didn't know. He turned to look at Jack. " _/She's not quite a Little Sister, and she's been on her own for several years. From what I've seen, liquor is far more abundant in this city than fresh water./_ "

" _/That type will not set well with the slug./_ " The Thinker insisted, flashing the red lights in an attempt to get Jack to stop poking around.

"I don't think you should drink that stuff." The redhead walked over to inspect the label. "The Thinker says it won't agree with your ADAM slug."

"It smells like Arcadia though." Jack said, but didn't protest too much as the bottle of Merlot was taken. "I miss it there."

"It might make you sick." Ultimus eyed the bottle. "I do carry a medical kit, most of us big truck-formers do, but I don't know enough about those slugs to be sure it'd do any good." He made a mental note to collect more of those first aid kits he'd seen lying around at random.

"There's no water in here..." Jack complained, with making more ADAM than normal she was rapidly losing fluids more than normal as well. The girl looked up at the mech and making a face as only a bored youth could do.

The big mech brought out a bottle of clean water from subspace, removing the cap before offering it to her. "I carry quite a bit with me."

The girl took the bottle gratefully as she plopped down just outside the booth, downing the water but thankfully not at that choking speed the first couple of days Ultimus knew her. She was learning as much that that was a bad idea as that now with the Autobot guardian there was less chance of not finding any. Ultimus ran a quick scan for any lurkers as he watched Jack, smiling. He was glad she was getting used to eating more regularly; he didn't like the thin, bony look he'd been seeing on many of Raptures residents, spliced or otherwise. Having spent a lot of time around GoldenRod, who looked after little ones of any faction or species, he knew what 'not healthy' looked like.

"Are we almost done here?" Jack asked yawning, blinking as she felt another thrum of energy that was like Ultimus, or what was in him when he carried her. Only this was bigger. Huh.

"If you need to rest, you can rest," the redhead replied. "There are no splicers here, aside from the one I freaked out already, and he won't dare get any closer."

There was a pause and then Jack climbed back to her feet, reaching up to grasp at Ultimus' fingers again and tug, "Can I stay with you?"

The mech smiled, picking her up and tucking her into his side, holding her in the curve of one arm, still wrapped in the grey fur, "Of course." The girl made a happy sound and snuggled in against Ultimus, hiding in the fur as much as in his embrace.

" _/You are very kind to the little ones./_ " The Thinker said once he was back, though there was no emotions in the words themselves there was the hint of it in the energies from the spark chamber under foot.

" _/I've always had a soft spot for little ones,/_ " Ultimus replied, " _/Probably partly from being unable to have any of my own. She is as close to a sparkling as I'll ever have./_ "

_"/It looks like you have a sparkling now./_ " The Thinker put in, and somehow conveyed a smile. He had a soft spot for the Gatherers of the city, his new frame.

The big redhead nodded, smiling slightly. " _/I do... And when I find a way to get home, she will come with me. I will not leave her in this hell, or at the mercy of a surface world that will only see her as a science experiment./"_

" _/Would you take me as well?/_ " The Thinker ask bluntly, metaphorically grasping at the chance.

Ultimus' audial plates pricked up under his helm. He looked out the window at the computer core. " _/Your body would be too difficult to extract from the system... It's too deeply embedded. But your mind and spark... Yes, I can return it to Cybertron, to be given a new form./_ "

" _/Though a ship before, I like being a city more./_ "

Ultimus nodded. " _/I will speak to my Prime about constructing a city form, in a place where hopefully the war will keep its distance./_ "

" _/This will be greatly appreciated,/_ " The Thinker said, humming in pleasure of the thought of both a more interactive body as well as a place away from any fighting.

The redhead smiled. " _/My commander's brother is looking for a place where he and his mate, as well as the little ones they care for and a small swarm of feline mechs, can live on the surface as well as underground. Their territory is neutral ground, and Primus help any war-monger who gets on their bad side./_ "

" _/I cannot leave right away,/_ " Thinker warned, once again splitting his attention to tend to something in Rapture, issuing repair orders to both the bay where the Big Daddies were serviced as well as to one Big Sister that he knew would make sure the job was done.

" _/I will come back for you, when you say you can./_ " Yellow eyes watched the monitors.

" _/Thank you,/_ " The city-former hummed his workings, " _/You wanted information?/_ "

The redhead nodded. " _/I am curious about how this city came to be... There is nothing like it where I come from. I'm also curious about how it fell./_ "

" _/I have all history files and logs./_ " The Thinker said taking pride his careful preservation of his Rapture 'body's' history. " _/I can upload them to you if you like?/_ "

Ultimus nodded as he placed one hand on the console. " _/Is there a port where I can link to the system? A hardline link makes the transfer easier./_ "

" _/Lower level,/_ " The Thinker offered, and slightly muffled there was a buzzing sound in the background.

The yellow-eyed mech nodded, choosing to use the stairs this time rather than simply jumping over the rail. He glanced once at the crumpled form of Wahl as he headed for the indicated spot, fishing an uplink cable from a compartment on his forearm. Reed the Nutter was still out cold, twitching in his unconsciousness. That was something to note, the splicers couldn't hold still, not when awake, passed out or even dead. On the flip side Jack was completely limp and still in her spot curled up in Ultimus' arms, the same was applied to the other Little Sisters from before and including the teen-to be Big Sister.

Ultimus eyed the Nutter for a long moment, tempted to break a few bones. But Reed was on the "do-not-kill" list Ice Queen had finally gotten around to sending him. He turned his attention to Jack, checking on her. Her stillness bothered him for a moment, before he figured out it was probably akin to playing possum... Splicers won't bother you if they think you're already dead.

A light blinked in an irregular pattern on a lower part of the wall, within a foot of that light was the hardline port, one of the few glimpses of pure Cybertronian tech. It was integrated in with the system, and if Ultimus was to lift some of the floor panels he'd find a more than a glimpse of a large spark chamber, farther below was the former body but between Porter and the Thinker himself they had fully integrated the mech into the city.

Yellow optics tweaked and redesigned to spot even the smallest flicker of movement immediately fixed on the flicker. Ultimus approached it, noting the strengthening thrum of a pulsing spark and noting its location. " _/Which faction were you, before you became part of the city?/_ " he asked curiously, plugging into the data port.

" _/I know of no factions,/_ " The Thinker admitted once the connection was formed, like with the speakers there wasn't a true voice but it had more emotion in it now, as well as the background senses of many things happening. The Thinker didn't have many shields against another Cybertronian of any kind anymore.

" _/Did you carry this symbol?/_ " Ultimus pointed to his own red faction insignia. " _/Or was yours purple?/_ "

" _/I was a ship I think,/_ " One of the cameras to the side gave a buzz to get Ultimus to turn so it could see the insignia.

Ultimus turned slightly, showing the red face insignia stamped onto his chestplate. " _/You were one of the bigger mechs; ships are among the largest Cybertronians./_ "

" _/From what I do remember, I carried those from Cybertron to other worlds,/_ " The Thinker thrummed thoughtfully as he turned his attention to Siren Alley, and then with concern looked at Ryan Amusements, at the same time uploading history files to Ultimus.

Yellow optics pulsed a fiery shade as Ultimus absorbed the history files, flicking through them rapidly. He made a sound of slight disgust at Ryan and what he had been doing, curling his lip ever so faintly.

" _/It is a struggling city, my current form,/_ " The Thinker said, " _/But there is still hope for it I think./_ "

" _/If it can be kept being completely wrecked by the ocean./_ " Ultimus touched a screen showing flooded corridors and drifting bodies. " _/Most of the inhabitants are like animals with mutated bodies, preying on each other. Before long this city will become a graveyard./_ "

" _/I see the possibilities,/_ " The Thinker insisted, and the image on screen that the Autobot had touched flipped, changing to show two Big Sisters. They were talking with helmets and radios on, the hulking form of a Rosie Big Daddy hovering behind them as he silently showed the two how to seal a leaking window.

" _/There are a lot of leaks, and not that many Big Sisters that I've seen./_ " Ultimus watched the image.

" _/After this last conversion there will be 30,/_ " The Thicker said, and the feeling of regret echoed through him, " _/The oldest are on the surface looking for engineers by order./_ "

Scarlet eyebrows went up. " _/By whose order?/_ "

A black and white photo of a woman was displayed on one of the larger screens, " _/Sofia Lamb: Clinical psychiatrist, current leader of the 'Rapture Family' and currently in control over the political leadership of my body./_ "

The speakers gave a crackle and then a man's voice spoke followed by a woman, a recording of a debate. Sofia and Ryan verbally sniping at each other.

Ultimus frowned thoughtfully. " _/I think I've heard her blathering over the PA system... Her nattering is rather annoying. Don't think she's noticed me yet, though./_ "

" _/You are in the Den, my den./_ " The Thinker relayed, " _/And you have not done anything to attract attention, or make the gatherers report you./_ "

" _/They reported me to Tenenbaum, but apparently no one wants to talk to this Lamb woman./_ " Ultimus' gaze flicked from screen to screen. " _/But I know she will become aware of me as I continue through the city. It's inevitable. She'll probably take me for a Big Daddy, as everyone else seems to./_ "

" _/She treats them as patients, does not want them to see beyond their view of the world. Tenenbaum created them, but she is trying to save them as well. She has asked much of me of late to help others./_ "

" _/She can't keep them in the dark forever./_ " Ultimus frowned, watching the monitors. " _/Does this Lamb control the Big Sisters?/_ "

" _/Yes and no./_ " Data scrolled over the screens and was added to upload, " _/The two oldest outside of Eleanor Lamb had broken part of their re-conditioning./_ "

" _/I heard the young ones speaking of Eleanor. They said her mother was holding her captive, and her Big Daddy is going to save her./_ "

The Thinker's pride leaked through the connection, he had helped with bringing that Big Daddy back, _"/This is true. He is awakening today./"_ There was a pause as the city shifted through slightly older files, giving an annoyed buzz, _"/Yesterday./"_ He corrected.

" _/I hope he kicks this Sophia Lamb's ass./_ " Yellow eyes flared brightly.

" _/The possibility is high./_ " The Thinker said, Ultimus only ably to hear him chuckling because of the still active connection.

The redhead laughed out loud. " _/It will be interesting to see./_ "

" _/I wish to stay until after it happens./_ " The Thinker said hopefully.

Ultimus' smile was wicked. " _/I also want to see it happen./_ "

" _/She started out as a more healthy leader,/_ " The Thinker hummed and then shifted his attention to outside views of the city, watching a still, pinned Big Daddy start to wake up and struggle with the beams holding him. " _/Now my hopes for my body lay with others./_ "

" _/Not everybody who starts out healthy stays that way./_ " Ultimus nodded. "/ _That's why war is ravaging our homeworld now./_ " He tilted his head. " _/That looks like the Daddy Jack and I saw fall from the collapsing tunnel./_ "

" _/Subject Sigma._ /" The same fondness that the Thinker had displayed for Porter was there again. " _/He will start my plans to help Tenenbaum./_ "

"/ _Ahh_./" Ultimus nodded. "/ _I have heard that most Big Daddies are little more than machines... I take it Sigma and Delta are different._ /"

" _/They all think, but those two now can act on their own as well./_ " The Thinker added the Protector projects, followed by the Gatherers and then what was there for the Big Sister conversion as well.

Ultimus' eyes flickered, then settled to a steady glow as he absorbed the new information. "/ _Interesting_.../"

Jack twitched in her sleep, jerking her arms and making a face at her dreams. The mech shifted her ever so slightly in his arms, gently brushing his jaw against her hair. A soft purr rumbled from inside his chest, vibrating his armor ever so slightly. The girl gave another few small movements before going still against him again.

" _/You do have a sparkling./_ " The Thinker put in after a moment, watching from his cameras.

" _/I do,/_ " the redhead agreed, looking up as Jack settled back into sleep.

" _/What else do you need?/_ " The Thinker asked after checking Arcadia.

Ultimus pondered for a moment. " _/Maps? I get the feeling I'm going to be all over Rapture, from one side of the city to the other, and almost everywhere in between./_ "

There was a moment as the Thinker shifted through his data and came up with the main maps, " _/There are places that were never given to me./_ "

" _/If I have to go into those places, I'll make maps and load them onto the system when I come back for you._ /" Ultimus absorbed the maps, adding them to the ones he already had.

" _/I would be grateful,_ /" The Thinker hummed once more before high-lighting a direct route to a secured room. _"/This is in Arcadia, will you bring Tenenbaum to this safe house?/"_

The redhead considered that, then nodded. " _/I will... I believe she wants to get a better look at me, anyway./_ " Fangs showed in his grin. "/ _I think she wants to try making plasmids to work on me, since my genetic code is very different from any human's./_ "

" _/It would be helpful, and less damaging to my body./_ " The Thinker put it, another light flashed not far away, "/ _Flip those, and an engineer can set up a line to me from there, I will help./_ "

Ultimus looked a bit sheepish. " _/My apologies for the damage I've already done, and apologies in advance for the damage I will inevitably do as I move through the rest of the city./_ " He moved toward the light, careful not to stretch the cable still connecting him to the panel. After a moment of considering, he carefully shifted Jack to free his other arm and flip the switches.

On the screen closest the mech a flooded part of the city was shown where several Big Daddies and what had to be older Brothers were seen working on repairs. " _/There is no feeling of pain like before, like you know, but for a mental kind./_ "

"/ _I don't feel pain. I can't. My pain receptors were destroyed by the arenas and the torture I suffered under the Quintessons. I don't even remember what pain feels like./_ " Armored shoulders rose in a shrug.

" _/It hurts?/_ "

Ultimus snorted a laugh. " _/The loss of my pain receptors and a few system shorts caused the pain signals to reroute through my pleasure receptors. It freaks more than a few people out./_ "

"/ _Interesting_./" The city said and his main display screen showed none other than Tenenbaum. It took a minute for the footage to show that it was live as the woman was motioning three normal-ish looking girl to follow her down a hall, a pistol in hand. "/ _She needs help._ /"

" _/Where is she now?/_ " the redhead asked, taking in the scene.

" _/Atlantic Express./_ " The Thinker changed screen to show the location and some general information about the transport hub.

Yellow eyes scanned the information. " _/What's the fastest way to get there from here?/_ "

"/ _Fastest? Open water_./" There was a playful edge behind the words, but at the same time a train route was uploaded.

" _/I can handle open water just fine; it's my companion that I'm worried about_./" Ultimus indicated the girl in his arms.

" _/She is still small enough to go through the air vents, like all Little Sisters and the few Brothers do. If you wish to stay together, take the trains./_ "

Ultimus' armor actually bristled. "/ _I would rather that we stay together.._./" He eyed the train routes.

" _/Then stay the trains, it would be about the same time./_ " The Thinker chuckled inwardly again.

The red-haired mech nodded, finally disconnecting from the panel and putting the uplink cable away. He watched the monitors for a moment, eyes narrowing as he watched Tenenbaum herding her group. "/ _I had best get going, before more splicers decide to move in.../_ "

With the connection gone, the screen next to the one with the woman and girl turned black, text scrolled across it reading, 'I told her to wait in a repaired train. It will be locked and safe for now.'

Ultimus nodded. " _/I will get to them as quickly as the trains can get us there./_ " He rested a hand on the console for a long moment. "/ _Until the next time we meet, brother_./" Leaving the booth, he made his way out, pausing to give the twitching Reed a crack on the head that would keep him stunned for another while before leaving the computer core.


	17. Chapter 17

Jack flinched awake as the train jerked into the station, brakes groaning in protest as they slowed the car as it came out of the water before crawling to a stop. "What?" The girl asked, confused as she looked around at what she could see around and beyond the arms holding her. She tensed in reflex, from not knowing where she was and her life before meeting Ultimus.

Ultimus made a deep purring sound. "The Thinker asked me to help get Tenenbaum and the girls she's rescued to a safer bolthole. The trains are the fastest way if we're to go together; otherwise you'd have to go through the vents while I swam. I chose to take the trains."

The girl clutched at the fur until she heard the Autobot's voice, and memory came back, she was safe with him thus far. "...momma Tenenbaum?" she asked, blinking, not yet fully awake yet.

The redhead nodded. "We're going to meet up with her, get her and the girls to Arcadia." He stepped toward the train, scanning it for any hitch-hikers before entering the control room.

Jack yawned, still tired as the slug in her stomach was far from done with the last batch of ADAM laced blood. The girl shifted to look around as they entered the train, and only after the door closed behind them and locked did she pat the mech's arm to be put down. Ultimus gently placed Jack on her feet, looking at the controls. Reaching over, he set the destination to the Atlantic Express hub and threw the switch.

The girl grasped at his nearer leg for balance as the train gave a jerk and with a mechanical grumble started off once more. As it was sinking back down into the water Jack let go to walk to the back of the booth, reaching up to open a door and peek into the warmer passenger part of the car. Finding it clear she walked in, touching the soft red fabrics of the seats and taking in the added wooden panels and gold trim. The train that the Thinker had sent looked like it had been a private car to someone very well off before.

"Wow..."

The big redhead stepped inside after her, blinking as he took in the decor. "Impressive."

"It's _wood_." Jack said in awe, "I don't see any bare metal." The girl climbed up on one bench that could double as a bed and looked out the window into the darkness of the tunnel before jerking in surprise as a fish flashed by glowing brightly. Then the train emerged into open water tracks, the lights of the still impressive city flooding the car with tinted lights.

"I take it wood's rare down here?" Ultimus thought about that, then snorted at himself. "Of course wood's rare down here... Trees don't normally grow on the bottom of the ocean."

"Only in the Arcadia domes and those are for making air. And peaches." Jack added, glancing back up at Ultimus before standing on the bench to press her face against the window to stare out at the lights of Rapture, spotting the large form of the giant squid and then moving to get a better look at two Big Daddies working.

The big redhead settled himself on the seats, ignoring the creak of protest, and looked out of the train. His eyes brightened as he spotted the squid. "It's extremely rare to see squid that size at the surface. They stay deep, very deep."

"We're at the bottom of the Atlantic." Jack pointed out, and then giggling slid down off the bench before poking around and investigating the storage compartments under the benches. There was a 'small' fridge at the far back. A squeal of childish delight followed after opening the fridge door.

"True enough," the mech replied, chuckling. Warm yellow eyes watched the girl investigate the compartments, and he rumbled another laugh at her delighted squeal.

The girl came back brandishing a bottle and showed it to Ultimus, "Are we coming back to this car? There's a bunch in there! ...and I can't drink it right now..."

"I'm assuming that the train will be available for us as long as the Thinker says it is," the mech replied, stretching out long legs.

"So I can leave it..." Jack nodded, walking back to put the child-prized soda back into the fridge. Yawning once more she came back to climb up on the bench beside Ultimus and then into his lap.

"Or stash it in my trailer, just in case," the mech replied, wrapping his arms around her. Since they were in relatively safe surroundings, he changed to his human form, stretching to get the kinks out of his back before settling back down.

"You're softer like this," Jack said snuggling up against the human formed Autobot, once more dropping off into her interrupted sleep that was partly induced while the slug worked.

Ultimus smiled softly as he watched, wrapping the fur around her to form a warm blanket. Leaning back into the seat, he watched out the windows as the train moved through the tunnels, watching the fish and examining glimpses of the city.

There was massive amount of life in Rapture, both out and in if you knew how to look, though outside was more than obvious. There was as much bioluminescence as there wasn't in plants and animals. Soon a low background hum turned louder as it formed into a whale's song, even if the creature wasn't seen. Ultimus' ears twitched, and he turned to look at the water. He had only heard whale songs in recordings; he was not built for underwater operations, so he'd only seen them on the surface and from a distance.

The whale remained out of sight but not hearing, singing as it hunted around the city. Schools of fish skittered by as the train continued on its way, turning with the tracks around a building. Flashing signs showing what the buildings were as well as adds. There was also an assortment of windows to look into. After a few minutes of twisting in an attempt to spot the whale, Ultimus settled back down, watching the fish swirl past. He eyed the flashing ads, wondering how the builders had kept the huge neon signs from getting crushed by the sheer pressure of the water. As the train passed between the buildings, he peered into the windows curiously.

A Bouncer was seen thumping along pausing to turn and look behind him at his current stalker. The young Big Sister walked right up and pushed herself against him, within the Big Daddy's range but she got a one armed hug. In another window was the sight of two splicers twirling in a fox-trot dance.

Ultimus blinked, twisting to stare into that window. When he thought of splicers, doing a foxtrot was not what came to mind. And oddly, they seemed to be really damn good at it, grinning and laughing soundless as they passed out of sight. It was a glimpse at what remained of their humanity, the man and woman had probably been a couple before their mutations.

The redhead shook his head, bemused. He doubted he'd ever see everything this city could cough up. Another window was passed as the train started to lift, climbing up to higher levels. But in the window a form jump and sprawled on the window. Ice Queen made a face at the mech.

Ultimus gave her a wide grin in response, showing fangs. He was still drawing on the blood supply he'd taken from her, which would last another few days before he needed to replenish his fuel tanks. Waving somewhat cheekily in her direction, he looked down the line in the direction the train was moving.

He got a girly wiggling of fingers in response before Ice Queen turned and unloaded her shotgun at a splicer behind her. The woman flailed and ran off the other way, coming back after reloading and having a knife in hand. Then she and that semi dramatic pose were left behind.

The redhead had to laugh at Ice Queen as the train left her behind. Shaking his head in amusement, he looked back down the tracks.

Jack shifted, twitching in her sleep as the train leveled off at the mid-level of the city. Soon other tracks were visible, here and there another train was glimpsed going or coming from what looked like a hub that was near the middle of the city, and sprawled out in between buildings as well as being dug in underground as well.

Ultimus shifted his arms slightly, looking down at Jack to make sure she was all right. Then he returned his attention to the scenery outside, looking at the underwater city from the various angles the train offered.

His train was heading into one of the sub-stations, away from the main passenger lines and to the repair bays. The next closest building was a kind of resort, looking a bit worn but hanging in there as it was one of the buildings being repaired as well. Yellow eyes scanned over the structure, wondering what part of the city this was. He looked at the ever-present neon signs, hoping one of them would name this part of Rapture.

'Atlantic Express' was sprawled on the hub, but not in flashing lights. Attached metal plates spelling it out, coral was growing around the edges, making it stand out in a more 'natural' way. The redhead relaxed, settling back as he watched the train hub getting closer. He took in the appearance of the building, the corals and the signs of repairs. The car slowed with a groan and then stopped before a junction, waiting as another train was pulling out of the opening ahead that Ultimus' train had been heading for.

Tilting his head, Ultimus watched the other train leave, then looked toward where it had come from. After the way was clear the car shuddered back into movement, getting some speed again. The tracks headed down to the sheltered tunnel like before, and then leveled off. Ahead were the lock-chambers before moving into air again.

Ultimus watched the tunnels through the window, then looked down at Jack, wondering what to do. She was sound asleep and wouldn't be able to cling to his shoulders or back if he had splicers to fight. He did not want to attempt putting her in subspace with his trailer; he was sure she would break in the nothingness containing his transformation parts. And he was loathe to leave her.

Yet, if Ultimus looked around, the passenger car doors were firmly chained from the inside, to one side there was desk with papers and... a key? The Cybertronian blinked. Very carefully, he placed Jack on the seat next to him, still wrapped in the heavy fur. Padding over to the desk, he picked up the key and examined it.

In tiny engraved letters was the words 'train # 453' and had either a red crystal, or an outright ruby, set in the metal grip, matching the same shade as the cushions in the passenger car.

Ultimus looked at the car, then back at the key. With this key, he could leave Jack in safety while he went to get Tenenbaum? Of course he'd need to test to see if it would lock the front doors to be sure it would work.

The redhead sat back down, holding the key, thinking hard. He might be able to safely leave Jack in the train while he went to get Tenenbaum and the other girls. He would have to leave a note for her, and some food and water, just in case.

There was the fridge the girl had explored before, but other than the pop bottle she had displayed Jack hadn't said what else was in there. Rising to his feet, Ultimus walked over to the fridge. Opening it, he scanned the contents, finding that there were several bottles of cola, as well as water, other bottles but no food stuffs. At least none visible.

Ultimus made a face briefly, going over the inventory of what he'd stashed in his trailer. He had a pile of canned foods, and he'd managed to find a can opener. There were crème-filled cakes and pastries, bottles of fresh water and liquor, and now a fair-sized stash of first aid kits. Ammo out the wazoo and a number of weapons.

Jack had already shown her like for the cakes, and a few of the different canned foods, but seemed to like Ultimus' 'dry' foods, the granola just a little bit more. From her stop on the bench in the fur, the girl didn't look like she was ready to move again for another few hours, at least another four or five going by how she slept before when making ADAM.

After a long deliberation, Ultimus carefully set out canned foods, granola bars, trail mix, and the cakes along with a couple bottles of water. As a precaution, he pulled out Jack's shotgun and several boxes of assorted ammo as well as a couple of the odd blue-glowing hypos he'd found lying around (having noticed that splicers used them to recharge plasmids, and Jack had plasmids, even if she hadn't been using them for a while), placing them in easy reach. He returned to the desk, finding a pen and writing a quick note, signing it with a quick but detailed sketch of optics and helm crest, so she would know who had left the note.

It was more than enough, even if he took a longer than expected time. The only thing was that Jack was still making ADAM, a larger than normal amount since she 'ate' more blood this last time. Ultimus eyed the setup for a moment, then rolled his eyes and added two large, empty buckets. These buckets had lids to keep splicers from catching sight or scent of the raw ADAM Jack would be producing. Setting them next to the seats, Ultimus stood back to eye the setup critically, then nodded to himself and settled back to wait for the train to reach the terminal. No sooner than he had relaxed again did the train rumble its protest of stopping again but it did. Parking and settling as clamps locked the car into place. Thanks to the Thinker more than likely it wouldn't leave unless Ultimus took off the extra brakes.

The redhead stepped toward the door, shifting back to mech form. The key looked oddly small in his armored hand, glittering between silver digits. Very carefully, he poked his head out of the train, looking around for any lurkers before emerging fully, closing and locking the train behind him. Ultimus paused for a moment, hand on the door, before stashing the key under his chest armor and turning away.

The place had seen better days, but it was also still standing. As beaten up and horrible as it looked the station was still structurally secure. There were some bodies strewn around, one was at the bottom of the small set stairs with the chest all but gone- a victim of Big Daddy's drill. In fact it looked like a Big Daddy had a fit with the dead splicers.

Ultimus examined the corpses, stepping around them as he scanned the area. He prowled around the train schedule signs, noting that every corpse had been looted. A small pile of tangled limbs in front of one of the health stations hinted that it had been hacked. Rounding the central partition, he approached the ticket booth. Most of the booths had shutters down, but one was half open, showing a back room. It like many 'hidden' places looked to have been converted to a safe house to live. The swarm of drawn jelly fish on one wall hinted at who had been there.

Yellow optics peered in through the shutters. Then Ultimus looked for the entrance to that booth, air hissing through his vents as he drew in a breath, passing the air through his nasal passages and over the scent receptors. He needed a scent to follow. There was the distinct smell of a Big Daddy- slightly different but still the same pheromone laced scent to attract and reassure Little Sisters. It would take some looking around to find the computer locked door to the ticket booths and that back area.

But it was there, impossible for a splicer to pull the panel off and get in to it to hack the door open... but not the Autobot.

Ultimus' predatory sense of smell and his built-in scanners led him to the hidden door. He looked at it for a long moment, then unsheathed his claws, digging them into the wall. The Cybertronian-alloy talons went through the Earth metals after a moment of resistance, letting the mech get his fingers into the panel. Bracing himself, Ultimus set his shoulders and pulled, hydraulics whining in protest.

A short hacking and circuit splicing jaunt later, and the door would slide open. Letting out the smells inside, of a normal human woman and Little Sisters. There was scents of food that had been left behind and of clean water and soap. The mech moved silently into the compartment. He stood in the center, inhaling deeply and logging the scents into his permanent memory. Once he was sure he had the scents memorized, he left the booth again, sniffing to catch where the scent led.

The mech would only find faint traces of what had to be Tenebaum's scent, probably she hadn't come out in this section very much. But if Ultimus were to go back in and explore that back room, he'd find another door, partly ajar from a hurried exit.

The mech moved through the main train terminal, casting about like a two-legged bloodhound. That thought made him grin, then he transformed to his wolf mode. Eventually he ended up back in that room with the jellyfish on the walls, sniffing at the panels until he found that other door. He poked his nose through, then eeled through the gap, following the scent.

It looked like he was in an employees-only section. Posters on the walls had reminders and maps, instructions on general repairs as well as numbers for mechanics. The scent trail of Tenenbaum and her girls led to the far back, out another door to a semi-public hall, going off to the left to, according to a sign, the repair bays.

The robotic wolf trotted after the scent, sensors taking in everything around him as he went. His paws were nearly silent on the floor, his steps only betrayed by the clicking of claws on the decking.

There was a large vibration in the floor before a semi-distant garbled sound of a Big Daddy giving a dying cry.

Metal ears pricked up. Ultimus increased his pace, opening his air vents all the way so the air could flow into his nasal passages and over the sensors before exiting as quickly as it could. He followed the scent trail and the sound.

"Get away from my little one!" A woman's voice yelled, followed by pistol shots. It sounded like it came from above almost.

The Cybertronian flattened back his ears, racing toward the sounds as fast as his four legs could take him. Claws dug into the metal floors for extra traction, propelling him forward like a shell from a cannon.

The room that all the sounds came from, a splicer screaming, a young girl's voice crying before another shot was fired. "Hah!" Tenenbaum's voice again, more clear, she was standing on a raised cat walk, having used the pistol to shoot down at two splicers. They had somehow taken down a Bouncer, and near the freshly killed Big Daddy, his former charge was grieving her heart out for her fallen 'father.'

The metal wolf slowed down as he approached. He paused for a moment, looking at the scene, then emerged from the shadows, pricking up his ears.

Tenebaum was trying to catch the Little Sister's attention, encouraging her to 'get back into that vent!' before another splicer showed up, the woman was looking for a way safely down at the same time.

Ultimus' sensors caught the flicker of movement along the ceiling. A spider splicer trying to be sneaky, but not sneaky enough to elude his sensors. Crouching, Ultimus fired every hydraulic in all four legs, launching himself toward the splicer with jaws agape. The woman gave a scream, jerking in shock at the sudden move, and at the glimpse of the splicer she emptied her clip at it, and in turn Ultimus, by reflex, cursing in German.

The bullets pinged harmlessly off Ultimus' armor, completely unnoticed. The Cybertronian's flight path never altered a hair. The splicer, bleeding from several bullet holes, saw him too late. Metal jaws clamped down on a spidery limb with bone-crushing force, and then the mech's sheer weight ripped the splicer off the ceiling. Ultimus transformed mid-fall, twisting to slam the splicer into the ground under his own mass. Bones crunched audibly. A moment later, Ultimus straightened, turning to look at Tenenbaum.

She was reloading, glancing at him and back up, scanning around with her pistol before returning her attention down. Distracted for a moment at the hiccupping of the Little Sister, who had hidden behind the limp arm of her fallen protector, wide eyes peeking out around.

Ultimus casually picked a bullet out of a seam, flicking it aside before looking back up at Tenenbaum. "Please don't do that," he told her mildly. "My armor is too hard."

"I know ya're voice." The woman said, walking along the cat-walk for a better view of the mech. "You are bigger than the screens showed." She paused and motioned to the little sister, "Well? Don't just stand there, let her bond, get her safe!"

Ultimus showed fangs in a wicked grin. "You think I'm big now, you haven't seen anything yet. Ask that nuisance Reed over in the Den just how big I really am." He bristled his armor plates to resettle them, padding toward the Sister.

The girl's sobs had quieted, still sniffing and hiding her face against the Big Daddy, at hearing Ultimus and glancing up to see him, she yelped and scuttled around the dead hulk. After a moment peeking back over.

"I won't hurt you." The deep voice lowered to a soft rumble. Ultimus eased closer, looking at the girl.

The Little Sister hesitated, leaning around the Bouncer's foot, staring at the Autobot. Her yellow eyes were still wide, but after a few moments were glazing over for a moment, "...Mister...Mr. Bubbles?"

The Cybertronian cleared his throat, then let out his version of a Big Daddy's call, deeper and slightly more resonant than a typical Rapture Big Daddy.

Ultimus was being watched keenly from above, but the young girl brightened up at the call. "Daddy!" She rubbed at her tear streaks and climbed over the Bouncer's legs as if not seeing them any more as she ran over to the mech, holding out her arms and bouncing to be picked up, "You're all better!"

The redhead rumbled a laugh, picking the girl up and placing her on his shoulder. He didn't have tanks like a true Big Daddy did, but the clamps that usually held his massive sword were still on his back armor and would provide a hold. Tilting his head, he looked up at Tenenbaum. "Are you coming down here, or am I going up there?"

"Hmm..." The woman hummed softly, watching the girl that was hugging Ultimus' neck and head, "You can meet me at the repair bay 3A?"

The mech consulted the maps he'd gotten from the Thinker, then nodded. "I can."

"I will meet you there," The woman nodded, paused and pointed at the mech, "You protect that child." She couldn't help but added before moving down the cat walk.

Ultimus snorted. "I pity the splicer who gets in my way." Turning toward the repair bay, he began walking down the corridor at a pace a normal human would have to run to keep up with.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the group keeps expanding. Ultimus is starting to feel a bit less like a wolf and more like a border collie herding dog, but he's not complaining.

"Daddy not so fast!" The Little Sister complained, grasping at the mech as she slipped a little on his armor.

The mech slowed his pace, flexing the armor plates of his back to make holding on easier. "Sorry," he apologized.

The girl rubbed at her face again, hanging on with both hands, her gatherer's needle lost, "Are we going home now daddy?" she asked, yawning.

"We're going somewhere safe," the mech replied, reaching up to touch her cheek gently.

She leaned against him, settling down now that the threat from before was gone and comfortable again, "I'm ready for dream time..." she paused to sniff, "You need a bath Mr. B."

Ultimus had to laugh. "I'm well aware of that. I'm a little ripe even by my own standards."

The Little Sister yawned again, resting her head against the mech's, "Do I have to find another Angel?" she asked.

"Do you want to?" The mech tilted his head to fix one topaz-yellow optic on her. He wasn't going to push it if she didn't want to harvest.

"I'm tired," she paused and added, "And bored. And I don't have my stabby anymore." The girl held out her hands to show they were empty before patting her stomach, "But I was a good girl, I got ADAM already!"

"Then you don't have to find another angel." Ultimus made a purring sound, turning down another hall toward the repair bay.

The Little Sister started to humm softly, looking around at where they were going, trusting Ultimus completely as she saw him as a Big Daddy. "Look! A shark! And it's eating an angel!" She pointed out a window, and then frowned, "Are they supposed to eat angels?"

"If the angels are in water, yes. Sharks need to eat. That's the cycle of life." Ultimus glanced at the shark as he continued down the corridor.

"What's that?" the child asked, attracted by the new term. She shifted on the mech's shoulder, balancing on her knees and grasping his helm for balance.

"Creatures live, they die, and their remains become food for other creatures, so they can live. It happens all the time. Even to angels." Ultimus consulted his internal map again.

The Little Sister's eyes went wide again at this seemingly new concept, "...but if the sharks eat the angels how can I get the ADAM?" she wanted to know.

"From the sharks when they die?" Ultimus lifted his shoulders to indicate he didn't know.

"I don't like swimming out there though remember daddy?" The girl poked Ultimus' head as they entered the large bay with many, many trains, and levels going up as well as down in the underground, "You had to save me from the water, it hurt."

"Considering the weight of the water, I am not surprised." Ultimus pondered that the Sister didn't seem bothered by the fact that he was talking back to her. He paused, contemplating the massive bay for a moment.

A pair of glowing eyes peeked out of the darkness at him, before ducking back down out of sight behind a dark curtain in a grounded, completed train car. Once a little closer Ultimus would have been able to tell that Tenenbaum had gone into that locked car. After another few moments another set of eyes peeked out from under the curtains on the other end of the same car.

Ultimus spotted the eyes quickly. He trotted in that direction, moving in an easy lope so the girl he carried wouldn't be shaken loose. She giggled, hanging on tightly regardless with a, "Wee!" her call attracted more attention and one of the curtains moved just enough for Tenenbaum to peer out as well. The mech grinned as he loped toward the train car, scanning warily for lurking enemies. He paused once to glance around before knocking for admittance to the car.

There was a pause and then, "Is it clear?"

Ultimus pulled out his rivet gun, loading heavy rivets, and shot down two lurkers. "It is now."

There were sounds of shooing and soft words before the only adult frame walked to the front of the car. After unlocking the inner and outer doors, the woman with graying hair peered out and then stepped back for Ultimus to enter. The Cybertronian had to duck slightly so he could get in without catching his helm on the doorframe. The doors simply were not made for creatures standing nearly eight feet tall. As he stepped inside, he looked around curiously.

Tenenbaum hesitated before relocking the door, shoving her pistol into her waist band and moving back to the passenger car, "Here, you see?" She smiled sadly at the five young girls that were half hiding, "Five reasons why I have returned to this horrible city that was once my home." She sidestepped expertly as first two and then all the Little Sisters- something a little off about them, came rushing over to greet the 'Big Daddy' Autobot.

Ultimus smiled, kneeling down. "Hello, little ones." He looked up at Tenenbaum. "Five... But there are more still to be saved, yes?" Removing his helm, he straightened again. "I am called Ultimus of Cybertron."

The woman put a hand over her heart, bowing her head to him, "I am praying that Herr Delta and Herr Sigma send me more, I cannot save any more given my position here. This is why the Thinker has sent you?"

"The Thinker has asked me to get you and the little ones safely to Arcadia," Ultimus replied. "And he says that he'll help if you want to start fiddling with my genetic code. The Thinker is of the same origin I am, from far beyond the stars, my brethren."

"Oh?" Tenenbaum was both interested and wary, but had to smile a little as one of the girls jumped to get a hold of the mech and his attention, "We can sort this out later, we need to get the little ones to a safe house, and a home for the others if... when they come."

Ultimus nodded. "I am far more advanced than any Big Daddy in Rapture; splicers don't stand much of a chance. And I do not have a blind spot for them to sneak into."

"Even you Herr Ultimus cannot be everywhere." The woman pointed out, and then stood straighter, clapping her hands for attention, speaking in German and motioning to the few things the group had. The five girls promptly scattered to grab what they could, mostly the food, water, gatherer needles and two teddy bears.

"In a big enough space I can certainly try." Ultimus smiled with cheerful nastiness. "I'm a fully-grown adult male Cybertronian. This might be my true shape, but nowhere near my true size."

"I hope we do not need to see," The woman said, eyeing her charges to be sure then had everything, even if it wasn't much before Tenenbaum herself took her bag and looped it over her shoulder, letting it rest on the other hip. One more check to be sure her handgun had live ammo before she motioned the girls to go ahead of her, "Stay between us little ones."

"Depends on how many splicers come howling after us." Ultimus waited, watching the group. "If I have to change, stay in a group." He checked his rivet gun, reloading it.

"If you do, be mindful of where we are," The woman couldn't help warning, following after the group outside the train, helping down the last two, "The girls can survive the water, I would not like to try."

"My trailer is waterproof... I could stash you there if I had to change in a place near the outer shell of the city." Ultimus lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

"I would prefer it not to come to this." Tenenbaum muttered, letting one of the girls grasp her free hand, "How are we getting to Arcadia?"

"The Thinker gave me the maps of the city, and I have a train. That can get us close to Arcadia. From the station we'll be walking, though. Unless you want to stay in my trailer section while I walk over." Ultimus shrugged again.

The woman considered this to herself, showing no hint either way as she moved, "Rose, stay close." She warned.

"But it's a-" She started, pointing at a soda, only to yelp at seeing herself looking at a splicer through a window. She ran back to the group at the splicer bolted off with a cackle.

Tenenbaun cursed, "Quickly! We must move!"

Ultimus was first out the door, rivet gun at the ready. His sensors swept outward, registering other contacts approaching. He swore vilely, baring fangs at the shadows, optics glowing like molten sulfur.

"Daddy?" The Little Sister still hanging onto his shoulder half complained and half questioned, tensing as she picked up that something was wrong. A trail of the other girls following, Tenenbaum lifting the smallest up onto her hip and tried to keep up as well.

"They're coming." Ultimus' voice was a deep growl, "At the edge of my sensor range, but rapidly closing in."

"Here," Tenenbaun called, cringing as she had to put the six year old down, pushing the girl to Ultimus, "I cannot run like I used to, take them ahead first please."

Ultimus shifted his rivet gun to subspace, picking up both the girl and the adult. After scooping up the others, he told them to hold on, then ran. He kept his stride smooth, so as not to jar anyone loose, but he moved far faster than any human could follow.

The woman didn't seem too fond of her sudden new position, though with some expert shuffling from the Little Sisters had a bit more breathing room. "I'm getting too old for this..." she muttered.

Ultimus snorted between inhales. "I'm a lot older than you, human. Don't even go there."

"It is relative," Tenenbaum said, trying not to be a hindrance as she pulled her pistol out.

"True enough," the mech acknowledged. "My Transformer standards I'm a young adult. By human standards I'm several hundred million years old, nearly a billion technically."

"Relative," The woman said again as one of the girls gave a giggle and patted her greying hair.

Ultimus snorted again, skidding around a corner without losing speed, accelerating again when he was in a straighter corridor. Behind them he could hear the clacking of spider splicer hooks on walls and ceilings, the mindless chatter and yowling of leadheads and thuggish splicers, and the deep rumble of the gorilla-like brute splicers. They were still following; six Little Sisters and only one Big Daddy were a target far too tempting to resist

"Daddy look another of you!" One of the girls said pointing ahead.

"Stop Ultimus!" Tenenbaum spoke, "Put Rose down! The child will get us help, she knows how."

Ultimus skidded to a halt, slewing around as he killed momentum. Sparks flew from under his boots. Carefully he put the indicated girl down, then shifted to keep his own armored bulk between the oncoming horde and his passengers.

The black haired child swayed a moment, blinked around and spotted the Rumbler. Without a gatherer's needle- she wasn't sure where it went, but she ran a ways away from Ultimus before taking a deep breath. Rose let out a scream, as loud as her small frame let her. Down the hall the massive form suddenly spun around and came half charging down to the girl. "Daddy! Daddy! It hurts!"

Ultimus glanced back at the Rumbler, then turned his attention back to the oncoming splicers. Herding the others into a tight group behind him, he let out a howl of defiance and rage at the mutated beasts charging toward them.

A rocket sailed past the mech, homing on the heat of the brute splicer, the ground was vibrating as the Rumbler, with Rose clinging to his back came up nearly shoulder to shoulder with the Autobot as it snarled. The Little Sister egging him on to help on his back the whole time.

The Cybertronian didn't have a launcher that wouldn't blow a gaping hole in the city walls, but he did have a rivet gun in one hand and the laser cannon, loading a thermal cell, in his other hand. Baring his fangs, he began picking off the spider splicers and leadheads before they could get too close.

Behind him, Tenenbaum was firing her pistol, taking head shots given the chance and was backing up with the other four girls down the hall. As much to put that much more distance between them and the near swarm of splicers as to get away from the large forms of Ultimus and the roaring Big Daddy.

An empty magazine fell to the floor. Ultimus briefly subspaced the laser cannon to slam in a new magazine, then resumed fire. He aimed for the heads as much as possible, or filling a chest with holes. The corridor was rapidly being clogged with bodies.

The Rumbler stepped back, grabbing something rounded on his belt and tossed the thing, letting it bounce and roll off down the hall. It 'popped' and unfolded into a mini turret that promptly started firing at the nearest splicer. A second one joined the first before the Big Daddy launched another heat seeking missile into the slowly thinning horde.

Ultimus blinked as he spotted the things, then grinned. He had to get some of those little things.

Rose was still yelling, and now the other Sister that was clinging to Ultimus had started to as well, varying phrases such as, "It hurts! Un-zip them daddy- X the monster's eyes out!" It was as much a panic response as part programming for them to be able to 'aim' their Big Daddy guardians in right direction.

Ultimus snorted, subspacing the rivet gun and pulling out his flechette rifle. Bodies shredded under the hail of razored darts, splashing blood up the walls and across the ceiling. There were fewer splicers, but they were still coming. Or...maybe not. Three rounded the hall, about to join when they took in the bloody mess. Those splicers were both knock out of the frenzied rush and turned tail to run, bolting off.

"And KEEP running!" Ultimus yelled after them, adding another burst of flechettes. Cycling air through his intakes to cool his systems, he glowered down the corridor at the piles of corpses before lowering his weapons.

The Rumbler stomped forwards, shifting his heavy launcher. Audibly growling at the living, he lifted a foot and gave an extra hard stomp on the one splicer that had nearly made it to the two, crushing the chest cavity and grinding his foot before thumping back towards Ultimus. The Rumbler passed as he made sure it was clear before taking a deep breath and letting Rose down, one large hand touching her head to be sure she was alright.

The Big Daddy let out a happy mumbling sound as the girl reached up to grasp his finger and tug. "Come on Daddy, we need to go see mamma Tenenbaum!"

Ultimus lifted an eyebrow at that. It seemed even normal Big Daddies could and did hold grudges. Snorting to himself, he turned and walked toward the rest of the group, subspacing the laser cannon and resting his flechette rifle against his shoulder.

The woman had managed to retreat back to the ticket booth door mostly closed but her frame just seen standing ready to shoot the head off something smaller than a Big Daddy that wasn't a gatherer. On his shoulder, the Little Sister that Ultimus seemed to have adopted had calmed down completely, patting the side of his head for attention.

"Is is safe to play now Mr. B?" she asked.

"No running off down the corridor," he replied. "I've had my fill of running for the moment."

The Rumbler that was almost still beside Ultimus gave a grunt, humming softly in seeming agreement as he faithfully followed after Rose. The Big Daddy turned just enough to look at the Autobot through a side porthole that was designed to blend in with the helmet.

Ultimus tilted his head toward the Rumbler, returning the look curiously. Big Daddies were hard to read because their faces were hidden by those massive helmets. There was a set of movements, a complete body language when they wanted to 'talk,' though they normally had nothing to say to someone other than a charge or now and again another Big Daddy. The Rumbler's stomps were easing as they approached the back door to the ticket booth, slowing to a long distance pace, still able with his longer legs to keep pace.

Ultimus settled into a slower pace, keeping even with the Rumbler. He was still watching the Big Daddy curiously. Could they speak aloud? He'd never heard one make a sound other than the whale-like calls that they used to communicate with the Sisters. Maybe he could use a datapad and a pen to "speak" with one.

"Ah, I said she could get the Big Daddy to help did I not?" Tenenbaum asked as she opened the door only to step back out of the 'threat' range since she didn't know the Rumbler like she used to 'know' several Bouncers and Rosies.

"I get the feeling it wants to ask a question, but it can't." Ultimus leaned against a wall.

"They have no vocal cords as a normal human," The woman said as she moved, walking ahead of the group to ease over to the ticket booth window that was half open, peering out, "It looks clear, but please check before the little ones come out again." She waited for the two to come in before closing the door behind them.

To the side the Rumble gave a surprised, "Mmmmmmeeeeerrrs?" at finding himself with two girls hugging his legs, in turn making him freeze in place.

Ultimus had to laugh, patting the Rumbler's non-launcher-bearing shoulder. "Welcome to the club. Our job is to keep the splicers away from these little ones while we get them to a safe place."

The Big Daddy shifted to look at him again, and then had to carefully lean down to let his hands be captured and he started that happy mumbling. After a moment a wordless song starting at the girls' insistence. Behind Tenenbaum gave one of her sad smiles.

The Cybertronian smiled, stepping back. He looked at Tenenbaum. "Just out of curiosity, is there any way to return a Big Daddy to normal?"

"It is possible," The woman said with a nod, "But that is not a topic for here, for when we are safe and I can get some equipment." She made a 'shooing' motion to Ultimus and the door he first came into the ticket booth from, "Please, make sure it's safe for the little ones to get to your train. The big one here will keep us safe for now."

Something like a purr came from the Rumbler at that.

Ultimus' optics flared bright yellow as he began running scans, bouncing his sensors around the train station. He sensed nothing alive but Jack, still in the train car. "No splicers within my sensor range. It's clear."

Tenenbaum blinked for a moment, "...Ah." she motioned the girls ahead of her with the Rumbler and Ultimus, still not sure of the Big Daddy's reactions. "Then let us go."

The Cybertronian poked his head out, glanced around, then emerged fully. He covered the rest of the group while the girls, Tenenbaum, and the Rumbler emerged from the ticket booth. "This way." He led the way over to the train, keeping optics and sensors open for any intruders

The Rumbler was actually hindered, having to really shorten his stride and step carefully as the group migrated. He stood to one side, near a vent in some confusion as the Little Sisters followed Tenenbaum up to the passenger platform.

"It's locked," One girl pointed out after tapping the door, and getting worried sounds from the other Little Sisters.

Ultimus reached under his chest armor, producing a key. Inserting it into the lock, he turned it, then eased open the door. Jack was right where he had left her, still asleep, so there was no danger of gunshots answering the opening door. Pushing the door open, he waved for the girls, Tenenbaum, and the Big Daddy to enter. "No more vents, big fella... These Sisters are different."

It took Rose encouraging him to come thumping over, but the Rumbler eased into the front part of the train- he had to duck as his launcher hit the edge of the door. He couldn't make it into the passenger compartment but stayed in the front looking in to carefully watch Tenenbaum lifting the girls onto the benches, altering one into a more bed and pulling a few small lap blankets that were just right for the girls she was getting to settle down. The woman moved to the fridge and passed out some water, and then moved to look at Jack.

Ultimus leaned over to check on the girl himself, gently running a hand over her hair. After coaxing the Sister riding on his back to climb down for some real food, he padded into the control room, consulting the maps in his processor. Disengaging the brakes, he set the next destination and got the train moving again.

The Rumbler grunted as he shifted with the train's movement. Then unexpectedly he moved more in the way before easing himself down to sit with forearms resting on bent knees, his heavy air tank and launcher braced on the floor to give his back a rest.

Ultimus tilted his head, then leaned against the wall next to the Rumbler, tilting his head at the launcher. "Is that as heavy as it looks?"

The Big Daddy gave a gravely sounding... something, like another grunt but also at an attempt at a word. The sound that came after wavered in tone.

"That means a yes," Tenenbaum called from her claimed spot. "More or less, the Rumblers' ...accents are new."

The Cybertronian tilted his head, then produced a large datapad and a pen. Scooting closer to the Rumbler, he showed it to the Big Daddy, then demonstrated how to write on the screen with the pen before offering both items to the Rumbler.

The Rapture nightmare murmured, shifting to get a port hole in line with the offered pad, studying it from within the helmet. A questioning hum came from the Rumbler as it looked back up at Ultimus.

"Everyone deserves the chance to say what's on their minds, even if it's not in words," Ultimus told the Rumbler, pushing himself upright and stretching until his spinal column popped in several places.

The Big Daddy gave a soft more lonely tone as he settled back down, seeming not ready or not having anything to say yet that needed be 'spoken' outside of what he could do at the moment. In the passenger compartment there was a scramble to one of the empty buckets, followed by the sound of a girl throwing up ADAM.

Ultimus looked toward the sound, then at the Rumbler. "Excuse me for a few minutes..." He slipped through the door into the passenger compartment, bringing out more buckets just in case. Shifting to human form, he pulled off his helm, setting it on one of the seats.

Tenenbaum had taken a seat in one of the few chairs, head tilted back on the rest and eyes closed. She seemed to have fallen into an exhausted sleep, not even bothered as one of the girls climbed up into her lap. All things considering she probably needed the nap, Primus only knew how long it had been since any of the group had rested with a sense of being safe.

Rose sniffed, looking queasy for another moment as if debating before sitting back and licking her lips.

The Cybertronian checked over everyone, making a slow circuit of the train car. Once he was satisfied, he lingered next to Jack for a moment before retrieving his helm and returning to the control section.


	19. Chapter 19

A small hand patted Ultimus', testing to see if he was really asleep or not, Jack was quiet so not to disturb any of the other sleeping Sisters, "Ulti?" She asked.

Yellow eyes opened, the slitted pupils narrowing slightly before widening again as the human mech turned to her. "I see you've woken up."

Jack gave a hiccup, paused to swallow and then climbed up onto the human formed Autobot's lap. Hindered a little as she had two bottles in her hands. Ultimus smiled, wrapping his arms around her. He looked over the rest of the group, checking on the Rumbler. The girls had all been exhausted, so when the train reached its destination he hadn't said anything, letting everyone sleep off their exhaustion.

Jack offered the bottles of cola up, having helped herself to one and gotten another for Ultimus, but she couldn't twist off the tops on her own. Before it had taken careful taps against a counter's edge. Smiling, Ultimus accepted one bottle. He got the cap off hers, then opened his own, sipping at the liquid inside.

"I like these," Jack said, sipping; you can't down soda very well without a lot of gas coming back up, and after regurgitating ADAM already the girl didn't want anything like that for a while.

"I've never tried it before." Ultimus sipped slowly. "My systems are mostly adapted for blood, but I can still consume normal food as well. Most people think of me as strictly vampire. Gets annoying sometimes."

There was a long pause and then a metaphorical light clicked on and Jack dissolved into giggles after glancing at Ultimus' face.

The redhead lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're like a gatherer!" Jack squeaked out, "No ADAM but like us!"

"I drink blood to keep myself alive. That ability proved the difference between life and death when those who enslaved my homeworld tried to starve us into submission. Had I not adapted I would have died." He smiled slightly. "At least I don't have to vomit back up whatever I've eaten."

Jack made a face up at him before relaxing back and taking another sip. She stayed quiet for a little while, "Do I have to stay in the safe house too?" She asked at last, leaning over the few inches to rest her head against the human formed mech.

"If you want to, but then I'd probably be driving myself crazy wondering if you were all right." The human mech smiled again. "Or you can come with me. It's up to you."

"I think I want to stay," Jack said snuggling closer, or trying to, "With you."

Ultimus purred, wrapping his arms around her. Then he yawned, showing long fangs. "Sorry..."

Jack smiled, not overly affected now by his fangs, it was by far not the worst thing she'd seen in her life. "What are we going to do after getting to the safe house?"

Ultimus hummed. "I'm not entirely sure. We'll have to see."

The girl perked up as a thought occurred to her, "There're peaches in Arcadia!"

Ultimus' eyes brightened. "I've never tasted peaches."

"Never?" Jack asked, becoming more alert, and admirably feeling a bit guilty since the only can of peaches she'd found with Ultimus was eaten by her. "Well you're a robot a lot of the time," Jack pointed out from his lap.

"Even when I'm a human," he added. "Because of my size and my fangs, everyone avoids me." He shook his head. "Everyone thinks I eat blood exclusively. It's very rare I get a chance to taste anything else."

"We're not." A small, tired voice said to one side, one of the girls was peeking out of her blanket.

Ultimus smiled at her. "Most surface-dwellers are afraid of what they don't know... They avoid it or try to destroy it. Since they know better than to try and mess around with me, they shun me."

"I don't know if I want to go up." the child muttered under her blanket, being one of the girls to live her life in Rapture. She yawned and looked about to go back to sleep, "I like peaches too..."

"If you remain here someone will find you and make you their slave again," Ultimus pointed out. "And the city is falling apart, despite the best efforts of the Thinker and the Big Daddies."

"I think she's asleep again," Jack said after leaning back to look at the Little Sister upside down over Ultimus' arm.

Ultimus snorted softly. "Looks like there'll be baskets of peaches being brought back to the safehouse."

"Have you ever had pumpkin?" Jack asked looking back at the human formed mech from her position, waving hands in the open air to show the shape of the things.

The human Cybertronian shook his head. "No, I haven't."

"Maybe momma Tenenbaum will make roasted Pumpkin when we get there," Jack said, "I remember that, she was nicest to us before like that."

"We'll see," Ultimus replied, shifting position slightly. He craned his neck a bit to check on the Rumbler.

He was sitting with his feet near each other, back to Ultimus so he could see the missing launcher and air tank. More surprising to see was that the Rumbler's thick helmet was off, set to his right and one of the Little Sisters had migrated over to curl up in it as she dozed in it.

Ultimus smiled at the sight, tilting his head to look at the Rumbler's real face curiously. From the angle he was at, he couldn't see, though, so he shrugged to himself and settled back.

"He must really like us," Jack said, looking over as well, she paused and then added, "He likes the cakes too."

"I do think he likes being around little ones, even if having two latching onto his legs make him do his best impression of a statue," the redhead agreed.

"Normally the only time Big Daddies get to be with more than one Little Sister is in their bays." Jack pitched in smiling, "I've been to a few when I was younger to get food."

"Playing with a group of girls in a safe place is preferable to fighting off hordes of splicers in a water-rotten tunnel," Ultimus added.

"And they don't let anyone near," Jack added remembering, "So the bad men couldn't take me again."

Ultimus nodded. "Always a good thing."

Jack finally rolled to be more upright again, grasping at Ultimus' shirt as she waited out her headrush, "ooo... it's all spinning."

Yellow eyes blinked at her, lifting one hand to help keep her from falling over. "You okay?"

"Sat up too fast," Jack said, still clinging but giggled softly.

Ultimus rubbed her back gently. "Done that a few times, but I bet it feels different in a mech than it does in a human, though."

"Makes everything spinny," She said, giggling again and sounding much younger than normal. In this quite, safe moment she had reverted back a bit.

"For us it makes our systems glitch, and our optic systems fritz. All we see is static." Ultimus shrugged.

The girl yawned, snuggling against Ultimus again as another small form was 'sneaking' closer against his side. Not fully awake the other girl was migrating closer to the warmth he was giving off. Ultimus smiled to himself. He'd been half expecting to wake up and find himself half buried in Little Sisters again.

This time they seemed too tired to move once falling asleep. Except for one or two, after all one girl had wandered over to the Rumbler. The girl beside the human formed Autobot sleepily opened her eyes, shivered and reached out for Ultimus' nearer hand. "Daddy, the monsters...I saw them..."

Ultimus wrapped an arm around the girl, bringing her closer. He began to croon softly, as he had done for the first pile of Sisters he'd ended up buried under.

After a long while a gentle hand touched Ultimus' arm, Tenenbaum was standing there with a glass of amber liquid, "Herr Ultimus, would you like some?"

Ultimus blinked at it. "What is it?" He took the glass, eyeing it curiously.

"A health tonic with a little Tawny Port," The woman said, "It helps with being under the sea away from the surface."

"Tonic?" the human repeated. "What is a tonic?"

"Just that, a tonic, this is one of the few not made with ADAM," She said, and took a sip to show it was harmless, "This is a human body you are in, as far as I can tell, the human body needs things they can get on the surface in the sun naturally and not in Rapture."

Ultimus raised a hand, brushing back red hair to expose an ear that came straight out to a point, nothing like a human ear. "I only look human on the outside. Inside, I'm nothing like a human. My organs aren't even in the same places."

"Interesting," Tenenbaum said setting the glass down within his reach. "It may still be good for you as well." She added before walking soundlessly back to the other side of the train, inspecting for what could be taken.

The human mech looked at it for a long moment, then cautiously took a sip. It was sweet and slightly bitter, but had a 'soft' after taste to it.

"For everything that came out of Rapture," Tenenbaum said, keeping her voice low, "Of the good and bad, there are some very good vintage."

"I'll take your word for that, since I have nothing to compare this to." Ultimus lifted one shoulder in a half shrug.

The woman chuckled softly, her smile seemed more real, a little wistful but had real amusement in now as she glanced over at the human formed Autobot. She shook her head as if dispelling an idea.

Ultimus lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just memories of younger years," Tenenbaum said as she packed the small bags of the girls with the sodas, water and the few cakes that were left, "You said the same thing a man I once knew did."

The Cybertronian lifted his other eyebrow, but didn't press any farther. Instead he settled back, checking on the girls pressed against him.

"Would you, _carefully_ wake the Big Daddy?" The woman asked glancing back, "He still has to linked me to his programming."

Nodding, the human mech carefully extricated himself from the pile of girls, walking over to the Big Daddy. He circled around to look at the Rumbler's exposed face, regarding it for a moment before carefully placing a hand on the Big Daddy's shoulder and very gently shaking. The head and neck were as inhuman as it was recognizable, it was oddly smooth and hairless. Impossibly large eyes that were more on either side of the head, snapped open. Glowing from within that same yellow color, it flashed red before the mutated man saw who it was. He blinked and rumbled softly without opening his mouth.

Ultimus had seen much worse in his long life, barely batting a scarlet eyelash at the Big Daddy's inhuman appearance. Tilting his head, he let out an answering, calm rumble.

The Big Daddy sat up, closing his inner lids as he yawned, fang like teeth that were aimed backwards flex for a moment before he closed his mouth again, glancing to his side as if making sure the Little Sister that was sleeping in his helmet hadn't seen what he did.

The mech carefully scooped the girl out of the helmet, moving her out of the way so the Big Daddy could replace the massive object. Nodding toward the food items nearby, Ultimus lifted an eyebrow, silently asking if the Rumbler needed food.

He got an interesting face in return, the Rumbler reached with one large hand and lifted the helm and putting it on. He put it on at an odd angle so it twisted into place, He paused and made the same sound as before when he yawned. His movements were slow as if stalling.

Ultimus shrugged, stretching his limbs and back until he got several loud pops, yawning to show his own fangs, though he only had two on his upper jaw.

A grunt, followed by another came from the Big Daddy as he was attempting to swing the tank back into place on the rig on his back. It could be done alone but it would take several tries and maybe a sore back.

The big redhead watched for a moment, then reached around and helped hoist the tanks into place on the Rumbler's back.

He got another grunt and a hum in what could very well be thanks as the Big Daddy stood, rolling his shoulders to get the tank to settle more comfortably in place. He shifted, almost swinging his head a little to get a clear view of the launcher rig, debating on putting it on at the moment or waiting. Not that he couldn't hold it for a long time standing still.

Curiously, Ultimus picked up the launcher, staying where the Rumbler could see him. He turned it over in his hands, looking at it from all angles and inspecting the missiles it carried. The base, where it attached to the Big Daddy's armor, was too wide for the Cybertronian's narrower shoulder, so it wouldn't be a feasible weapon for Ultimus to carry.

"Won't fit you Daddy," A girl said peeking around the doorframe to the passenger car, she gave a sleepy smile and tucked her blanket more around her head and shoulders. To the side the Rumbler gave something that at one point in time had been a chuckle as he watched Ultimus.

"Nope," Ultimus agreed cheerfully. "My shoulder's too narrow; this was made for the wider shoulder of a Rumbler's armor. Would like to find one of those drills, though..."

"Haaarrrrrumpf." The Rumbler 'said,' understanding the words even if he could speak. He reached for the launcher rig and mumbled in a reassuring tone.

Ultimus helped get the launcher rig into place, tilting his head. He was still working on figuring out which sounds meant what. The Rumbler would have to go reload the launcher itself soon, he'd show the other protector (as he saw Ultimus) where the nearest armory was.

The Cybertronian smiled at the Rumbler, then pulled out his flechette rifle and began taking it apart. One of the tiny dart had gotten stuck in the barrel and needed to be dislodged.

The girl wrapped up in her blanket wandered over latching onto Ultimus' leg as she yawned and leaned against him. The rest of the mostly freed Little Sisters were stirring as Tenenbaum woke them. Ultimus smiled at the girl, and then finished poking the stuck dart of the rifle barrel. He caught it before it could fall to the floor, where one of the barefoot girls might step on it, stashing it back in subspace.

"Are we going home now?" The girl asked, head resting on the mech's leg, sniffing and frowning a little before relaxing.

"We're going to a safe place," Ultimus replied, reaching down to rub her back gently.

"Can I ride?" The girl asked looking up after seeing the Rumbler lifting another sleepy girl into his arms.

The redhead snorted, stretching once more before shifting back to his mech form. Hydraulics whined softly under his armor as he shook himself to resettle armor plates, then picked the girl up, setting her on his shoulder.

For a moment he was blinded as she hugged his head, the blanket in the way before she shifted around to be sitting behind his head like some of the gatherers had been seen with the Rosie Big Daddies. It put her out of the way and, in a way, more room in case Ultimus wanted to carry another or two.

Ultimus chuckled softly as he finished putting his rifle back together. He slid a couple larger cartridges into the stock for later use, loading a clip of darts before subspacing the weapon again. Turning, he watched the other girls as they started to wake up all the way.

Most were all at least sitting up now, probably once settled in this new safe house they were going to go back to sleep again, the last few hours helped but weren't enough.

"No little one you do not need to gather right now," Tenenbaum was saying to the girl Ultimus had found with the dead Big Daddy. The woman was kneeling in front of Jack, checking her over now that she was awake.

The Cybertronian rounded up the buckets, most of them now full of ADAM. If he'd been able to use normal plasmids, he would've been able to buy out any Gatherer's Garden machine he came across. Sneezing once, he moved to stand out of the way but where he could still see.

"Check for brains!" Two girls called at Ultimus at hearing his sneeze. That made Tenenbaum lower her head with her shoulders shaking a little in quiet laughter.

Ultimus blinked, then had to laugh. "Sorry, no brains came out that time," he called back cheerfully.

"Good!"

"Daddy's not supposed to be an angel!"

"I have to go to the bathroom."

The big mech shook his head in amusement. "Bathroom is at the end of the car." He pointed to a door; he'd discovered it himself a couple hours before.

It took another half an hour before the group was ready. Mostly because Tenenbaum refused to let any of the girls leave until they all went to the bathroom, and had at least a soda and cake to eat. "Not the healthiest but for these little ones with the slug in their bellies it will hold them over longer than if the thing wasn't in there," the woman said once ready.

Ultimus tilted his head. "I have some healthier foods in my trailer. And I've been stashing every canned item I've come across as I've been moving through the city."

"For now, let us wait until we can breathe easier in a safer place," the woman said, pulling her graying hair back and tying it out of the way. Taking a moment to double check that her pistol was loaded and then moved to stand in front of the Rumbler, staring up at the portholes. "You know me now yes? You remember?"

The Big Daddy shifted, staring back.

"Why wouldn't he?" The Cybertronian blinked at her.

"I'm not sure if Lamb has altered the Big Daddy conditioning," Tenenbaum said, and then her tension eased some as the Rumbler hummed softly, offering a hand. She put her own on it for a moment, "It seems not. Just took a bit for it to kick in."

"Oh." Ultimus considered that. "Makes sense."

"Suchong put in a... fail safe?" She paused to consider the right term, "The Big Daddies would not hurt he and I as long as we do not actively harm a little one."

"Ohh." Ultimus nodded slowly.

The woman patted the protector's chest before turning to motion Ultimus to unlock the outer door. There was two girls clinging to the Rumbler's back and shoulder, Tenenbaum had the hand of one and another was grasping her bag's strap. The others were clustered with Jack near Ultimus.

Ultimus drew in a deep breath, optics flaring a fiery yellow as he extended his sensors outward, checking for lurking splicers. He could feel something at the very edges of his considerable range, but nothing too close. After running a quick head count, he unlocked the train car, stepping out with rivet gun in hand.

Whatever talking the girls' had been doing instantly quieted down, those not riding along with someone hung back near Tenenbaum. Jack flexed her hands, watching the blue light up her veins as she mentally called her plasmids up. Only after the Ultimus left and the Rumbler thumped along after the mech. He was moving away, looking and scanning around himself for threats as Tenenbaum exited last.

"Nothing in range." Ultimus' voice was just loud enough for all the group to hear. He consulted the map he'd gotten from the Thinker, marking the location of the safehouse and the route to it.

Tenenbaum stepped down, followed by the girls, her pistol in her over-jacket's pocket so to let her two charges cling to her hands, "Arcadia... I hope the Saturnine are gone or do not see us..."

"Saturnine?" Ultimus echoed, looking at her curiously.

"One of several smaller cults before the Family started gather members, and before 'Atlas'" The woman started, pause and then, "They are Houdini Splicers, teleporters. I do not know what they have become if they are still around."

Ultimus nodded slowly. "One of my comrades is a teleporter; I'm used to them. I long since calibrated my sensors to detect a teleporter before they appear, so Titanus would stop startling the coolant out of me every time he popped out of thin air."

"That is good, though they probably differ from what you are used to." Tenenbuan looked over at the Rumbler that had started ahead of them in the only way out of the train station. His stride shifted to the long distance, energy conserving gait of the Big Daddies. The two girls on his back making no move to get down, but instead reaching to grab at flowers of clinging vines.

"I'm still very hard to sneak up on, from any direction." Ultimus detoured briefly to scoop up another audio diary, adding it to his collection.

"Momma Tenenbaum," One of the girls tugged on Tenenbaum's dress as the group moved into the first large dome, walking down a set of stairs. She pointed as Jack turned to spot the same thing, "Pumpkins!"

The redhead looked in the direction of the call. "Pumpkins?"

"Ah, they like that," The woman explained and addressed the girls on a whole, "I will get some for you, but first we must be safe yes? Come, follow your daddy he knows the way." She managed to motion to Ultimus.

Ultimus looked at the pumpkins, walking over to them. One by one he reached out to touch them, and they vanished into subspace. Once the last one was stashed away for later, he rejoined the group, grinning at Tenenbaum. "Subspace. Gotta love it."

"Very useful," The woman agreed from her spot looking around as if looking for other edibles- and there was a lot if one took their time. However like Tenenbaum had said this wasn't the time, she could come back out either on her own or with one of the protectors later. "Where is this safe house?"

"This way." Ultimus began to walk in the direction of the safe house, making sure everyone was following, keeping his pace slow enough so the girls would be able to keep up.

The Rumbler alternated between walking beside Tenenbaum or hanging behind the rest. Every now and against he was start off in a direction, or keep going straight when the other turned. But he was always coaxed back on track by either his two passengers or Jack hopping in front to get him to follow her. The girl was gathering up a few sticks and leaves here and there as well as they moved, trying not to drop them or her gatherer's needle, and ended up giving the later to one of the Little Sisters to free her arms up. Not every stick was good enough, it had to bend or it got tossed away.

Ultimus kept moving in one direction, ranging from one side of the path to the other as clusters of edibles caught his attention. Everything in reach ended up in subspace for later, when they reached the safe house. He would probably be the best one for harvesting the edibles later, since he could carry far more than anyone else due to his subspace pockets.

Every time he did that Tenenbaum tried to get a good look for a spare moment, looking to be attempting to figure out how it worked. Ultimus caught her watching him as he subspaced several clusters of berries within easy reach. Turning his head, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Curious about how I do it?"

"Very," The woman admitted, nodding.

"Magic!" Three girls said as one, making Tenenbaum smile a little.

Ultimus chuckled. "My people have the ability to manipulate subspace, which is sort of like an alternate dimension, and mold it around our bodies for use as personal storage pockets. We store weapons, cargo, parts of our alternate modes, and anything else we need to carry there. My truck mode's trailer section is in subspace. And my commander could store half the city in his, I swear to Primus."

"It sounds like a very fascinating place and people you come from." She paused seeing a small form run across their path ahead and vanish in a mist of blood. "Oh dear."

"My people are among the oldest races in the galaxy." Ultimus' optics tracked on the teleporter, lifting his rivet gun.

"No, don't shoot it," The woman warned disentangling one hand to touch Ultimus' nearer elbow, squinting at the form that was reaching for a berry bush, "I think it's a Packer...or the Saturnine are still around."

The Cybertronian rumbled. "I don't attack unless threatened or challenged. After millions of years of experience I have a pretty good idea of what's a threat and what isn't."

A long growling call came from the Rumbler as it thumped ahead of the two. At his call a white and red painted face looked up, startled, but skittered off to one side out of the way, muttering softly about the earth god as the boy knelt by another bush to gather and eat the berries, seemingly oblivious now.

Ultimus looked at the Big Daddy for a moment, then continued on the route, passing the boy without glancing at him but keeping a sensor open, just in case.

Tenenbaum kept her girls close, while Jack reached up to grasp at Ultimus' fingers with her free hand. As they walked through the dome to the other side, the older woman had to keep a good hold of her two girls to keep them from trying to head off on their own to follow the smell of ADAM. As he herded the group toward the safe house, Ultimus caught himself feeling a bit like a border collie herding stubborn sheep. The thought made him grin, but he refrained from changing to his wolf mode, not wanting to startle the girls, Tenenbaum, or the Rumbler.

"I wish I could use the full plasmid that frees them," Tenenbaum said, more to herself after retrieving another girl. "But even that only goes so far."

Ultimus blinked. "There's a plasmid for that?"

"I made one," Tenenbaum nodded, "It puts the slug into a dormant state, breaks some of but not all of the mental conditioning. After the first few girls, I found it was not wise to kill the slug as their bodies are filled with ADAM."

"Ahh." The mech nodded slowly. "Useful, but still limited."

"The conditioning can be overcome with time and work, this I know," Tenenbaum said with that sad smile from before, "The slug is useful as in this case, it heals the little ones as it should and stabilizes the ADAM."

"As long as it serves a purpose other than attracting splicers." Yellow eyes flashed.

A muffled, moaning call of another Big Daddy was heard as movement was seen outside of the nearest window, the Bouncer walked by pulling on a neutrally buoyant...something, hauling what could be a repair station to whatever was his assignment. A few moments later a Rosie was seen behind following. Ultimus glanced at the two curiously as he continued to herd the group toward the safehouse, wondering idly what they were up to.

"Repair crew," Tenenbaum commented as she glanced out the window, "Probably heading back out."

"So they're the ones who try to keep this place from collapsing under the weight of the sea?" Ultimus tilted his head to one side.

"They can do repairs for longer than a normal man in a suit." The woman said, "There was a type of Big Daddies used for upkeep but I have not seen them in a long time."

"A type just for maintenance, as opposed to guarding the Sisters." The redhead pondered that. He checked his internal maps, heading toward a door.

The hum of bees made Tenenbaum pause long enough to watch the insects flittering around in what looked a roaming swarm. Jack tensed, the blue veins being replaced by red and her body temp rose with the switch. But after the bees settled down on a flowering tree they relaxed.

Yellow optics turned to Jack. "You don't like bees?"

"The plasmid made ones are nasty..." The girl said shivering and rubbed her arms as at the same time the Rumbler gave a short cry and snarled as he belatedly homed in on the word 'bee.'

Ultimus blinked. "There's actually a plasmid that makes bees?" He shook his head. "I gotta see the list of plasmids this place has produced."

"That can be done," Tenenbaum nodded, "Some were never meant for the general public." she added looking around, alert for any splicers, or humans.

"What about this one?" Ultimus pulled out a vial of a red substance... a sample he'd taken for the Autobot scientists to fiddle with. "The bottle was labeled 'Gravity Well'."

The woman blinked and then frowned, "So that's in production eh? It is a plasmid that manipulated space, drawing things to it like a black hole but sucking anything in. A, er, well of gravity."

"Basically a portable black hole." Ultimus returned the syringe to subspace. "Would be a useful one, I think."

"I like moving things!" one of the girls, Rose, spoke up from her spot on the Rumbler's neck, his free shoulder had the other girl on it.

"Telekinesis would be handy, too, at times," the Cybertronian agreed. "I've seen Electrobolt and Incinerate from Jack; I think I'd use the fire more than the electricity."

"I can't do anything yet," the youngest complained, hugging Ultimus' neck as she shifted position.

"How do Little Sisters get plasmids?" the mech asked Tenenbaum curiously. "Do they come from the ADAM they ingest, or the splicer blood?"

"A combination of both." The woman said, and she straightened as she walked.

The big redhead blinked as he considered that. "A good thing I've avoided eating anyone since I arrived... Primus only knows what the stuff would do to me."

"It would not be wise for any human to drink blood, let alone some laced with ADAM," Tenenbaum said, looking down at the girls, "It takes long term exposure for the little ones to start developing plasmids."

"I'm not human," Ultimus reminded her. "I don't even have a similar genetic code. There's no way of knowing what ADAM would do to me."

"Not without a good look at your DNA," Tenenbaum chuckled, pushing some of her graying hair out of her face.

Ultimus rumbled his amusement. "The Thinker says that he'll help if you want to poke around in my DNA. As for my blood-drinking, I'm vampiric by nature. It was an adaptation to survive a killing famine."

"Not just blood," Jack couldn't help pointing out, "You're like us," she waved a twig around at the other girls.

Ultimus snorted. "Except that I don't separate out one part of what I drink, and I certainly don't regurgitate it unless I absolutely have to. The few times I did, it was because my shield mate was running low on energy himself. The blood I drink is for my own use."

"Weird," Rose commented from her perch, fiddling with some flowers she and her fellow sister managed to grab.

"Cultural differences always are," Tenenbaum said, taking a deep breath of the earth smell that was Arcadia.

"Species differences, too." Ultimus shrugged. "I'm alien. Not from anywhere on this planet."

"This is true. How much farther Herr Ultimus?" The woman asked, watching Jack have to go get the Rumbler again.

"We're almost there," the mech replied, bringing down a splicer before the group even noticed it trying to sneak up on them.

Tenenbaum tensed and reflexively reached for her pistol, "Very useful you are hm?" She half commented, and maybe partly teased. From his spot now at the back of the group, the Rumbler paused in his pacing, shaking his head in the helmet before giving a long, low sound that was just a little confused as he stared at a corpse.

Ultimus' grin revealed his sharp fangs. "I'm a robotic life-form; of course I have powerful built-in sensors. I can see in infrared, ultraviolet, night vision, and several other spectrums of light as well, if I choose to. I can also track anyone and pretty much anything by scent." He looked at Jack. "Which reminds me; I have to track down your aunt before she comes looking for me."

"There we go," Tenenbaum said as she extracted herself from the bedroom, the sounds of quiet, steady breathing of the resting little sisters just barely heard before she closed the door softly, "They should stay out for a few hours. Long enough to make some proper food."

The big redhead nodded. He'd retrieved from subspace all of the edibles he'd gathered on the trek through Arcadia, as well as some of the canned goods he'd picked up throughout the city. The results took up most of one of the tables. Ultimus was sitting by the wall, prying off armor plates to clean off the grime that had gotten under them, exposing a secondary metal shell underneath. At one point he pried off one of the secondary panels to get at something underneath, exposing the masses of circuitry, machinery, circuit boards, blinking diodes, sensor cables, hydraulics, and the muscle cables that made up his internal systems. The faint whirring and humming his armor generally muffled was clearly audible through the open panel.

The woman watched for a few moments before moving to look out the open doorway to peer out at the Rumbler that had settled against the far wall to take another nap himself. "He will leave soon to restock." She judged as Tenenbaum moved out to examine the personal gardens and what could be used. She came back with arms full and chuckling, "It seems young Jack is caught."

Ultimus looked up from his maintenance. "Caught?"

"Big Daddies still crave love from the Little Sisters as much as the other way around." Tenenbuam shrugged as she picked out the pumpkins to bring to the kitchen, "She got caught in a hug in basics."

The Cybertronian chuckled, peeling off the under-armor covering his chest to get at a kinked circuit. A pulsing glow could be seen from deep in his chest, behind the wiring and circuitry.

Jack came wandering back into the main room as Tenenbaum was gutting the pumpkins of their seeds. She paused as the older woman eyed her, "What?"

"You need a bath little one."

Jack scrunched up her face in protest at that.

"Both of us need a bath, I think." Ultimus eyed the small pile of rags on the floor next to him. He'd gotten quite a bit of gunk out from under his armor. Then he went back to unkinking the cables in his chest cavity, shifting some aside to get at something behind them and revealing a pulsing orb of energy inside a crystalline cylinder.

"Knowing Julia the tub should be big enough even for you." The woman said, and at her words Jack's eyes grew wide and she turned to the bathroom before going over to see for herself. Tenenbaum chuckled at that.

"It IS that big!"

Ultimus chuckled, replacing his under-armor. "That's good; being nearly eight feet tall makes finding a bathing spot a little difficult sometimes." He rose to his feet, removing his helm and setting it aside.

"Aaahhh, that's going to be braided soon," The woman chuckled, "Take your time this will be a little while."

A scarlet eyebrow lifted, and then Ultimus turned to Jack. "You first; I have two forms so I'll take a bit longer."

The girl peeked out of the bathroom, scanning around as if trying to think of something to stall or get out of the bath, still clinging to the idea that she was safer as she was- non clean.

Ultimus raised his eyebrows at her. "Remember the last bath?" He walked over to the bathroom. "Don't make me tickle you into submission again."

A muffled giggle came from Jack as she ducked back into the bathroom, "No soap!"

"In the wall compartment." Tenenbaum called.

"I have some with me, too," Ultimus called back, chuckling.

Jack was peering over the edge of the large, deep bath tub that was more built into the floor then a standard claw foot tub. It would need a rinsing but seemed ready. "Is there warm water?" Jack asked looking back at the mech.

The mech walked over to the tub, looking at it for a moment. "Let's find out." He turned on the hot water tap, seeing steam rising from the water, "Amazingly enough, there is." Brushing back his red hair to get it out of the way, he gave the tub a quick wipe-down to get the worst of the gunk off, and then began filling it.

The girl stepped back, carefully taking out her family picture to put it up on the counter and away from the water. After a moment and a sigh she came back to Ultimus to tugging at his arm, "Help?" she asked turning around, since he had tied her sash before.

"Of course." The redhead untied the sash, setting it aside for her.

The girl shrugged out of her dress, "I still think it's better like this..."

"You might be able to ignore the smell, but to those with more sensitive noses, the scent of blood and gore is enough to turn the stomach. Even mine, and I've smelled worse in my life." Ultimus checked the water temperature, turning off the water.

"I smell ADAM and roses." Jack blinked up at the mech, Little Sisters did have a heightened senses but with their conditioning, even the part conditioning like the with Jack.

"You smell like something dead and rotting,." Ultimus replied. "That partial conditioning you do have must influence your scent receptors." When the girl blinked up at him with blank expression he translated, "You don't smell things the way normal people do."

"The little on may not understand for a while," Tenenbuam said, coming in for a moment, holding out a large bar of soap that smelled of vanilla. She had gotten the bar almost as an afterthought on the surface before coming down, "I think for now you should let her and the others continue to embrace that part of the conditioning to save what they still have of the mind. Here, this helps."

Ultimus pondered that, but said nothing. He accepted the bar of soap, placing it beside the tub as he helped Jack get her dress off.

Jack peeked over the tub again and reached in to try and touch the rising water, and then try and climb in on her own, ending up face planting in the water.

The Cybertronian caught her, righting her in the water. "Careful."

The girl scrubbed at her face and blinked as she was standing on tip-toe in the tub- it seemed more than that really. She could almost tread water in the warm bath and that was such a new and admittedly nice experience. "Are you taking a bath too?"

"I'll be taking mine after you finish; I have two forms that need cleaning. And my humanoid form has bits you're too young to see," Ultimus answered.

"Bits?" Jack blinked at him confused, she paused and added a slow, "Okay..." she still didn't get it, at least not right now.

"You don't want to know," he told her.

Jack shrugged, splashing the warm water before scrunching up her face as her hair was washed. Oh that was a plus... she reached back and tugged on the Autobot's hand, "Could you brush my hair again?"

Ultimus smiled, "Certainly." He brought the brush from subspace, setting it aside for the moment.

"Are the other girls getting a bath?" Jack asked, hoping so if only that she wasn't alone in this 'fate.'

"Probably, when they wake up," the Cybertronian replied. He shifted position slightly, leaning against the side of the tub and stretching out long legs.

There was a long pause as Jack ducked under the water rolling and playing in it. When she popped back out and into air again the girl blinked, "Does the Big Daddy get a bath too?"

Ultimus shrugged. "Somehow I doubt the crud on his suit bothers him much."

"Hehehehhe..." Jack covered her mouth as she realized the only way the Rumbler would be able to get a bath would to be scrubbed in the open water. And the silly mental image of the Big Daddy avoiding Ultimus with a scrub-brush was giving her giggle fits.

Red eyebrows rose as the Cybertronian watched Jack, wondering what was so funny. Jack grinned up at him, not telling as she splashed at him instead. Ultimus grinned, splashing back gently. The girl splashed once more before diving back under, and as she did that Tenenbaum came in again with a towel.

"I hoped the soap worked, it is the best I found for helping with old blood."

"It seems to have worked," Ultimus replied, looking up from the girl in the water. He moved one leg so Tenenbaum wouldn't trip over the armored limb as she approached.

The woman nodded offering the towel in her arms to the mech, there was actually two, "When you need time alone just send the little one to me, and we will finish dinner."

Ultimus nodded, "Will do."


End file.
